SOFIA (Bulgaria), August 16 (SeeNews) – Bulgarian stock exchange indices ended mixed to lower on Thursday in a prevailing bearish mood, influenced by recent losses on international markets driven by strained credit markets and are seen further down in the upcoming weeks, brokers said.
The blue-chip SOFIX index of the 16 most liquid shares on the Bulgarian Stock exchange (BSE) edged 0.3% down to 1,569.12 points, while the broader BG 40 index gained 0.54% to 393.61 points.
The Dnevnik 20 index, calculated by local business daily Dnevnik from the share prices of the 20 leading companies in terms of liquidity and market capitalisation, lost 1.1% to 229.82 points.
“The BG 40 index ended higher because of gains in [paint and coating producer] Orgachim and [ship repairer] Odessos. Otherwise, there were sell-offs of most of the shares,” board chairman of asset management company Status Capital, Vladislav Panev, told SeeNews.
Shares in Odessos closed 1.7% lower at 290 levs but their average weighted price, used in the calculation of the BG 40, index rose 0.37% to 292.75 levs in volume of 232 shares. Orgachim ended at 435 levs, down 0.2%, but its average weighted price was up 2.4% to 444.81 levs in volume of 140 shares.
“The market may lose about 10% for as long as the correction continues, although we don’t know for how long it will last. (…) Besides, I think the Bulgarian market is expensive,” Panev said.
Panev added the main reasons for the possible correction after two of the indices hit record highs in the past month, were latest falls on the global markets and the upcoming initial public offerings and capital increases of Bulgarian companies, which would drain funds from the market.
U.S. and European stocks have been pressed down lately by concerns over the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
Turnover on the BSE rose to 22.2 million levs ($15.2 million/11.4 million euro) from 14.5 million levs on Wednesday.
On Thursday 83 shares lost ground, 31 rose and 16 closed unchanged.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)
Search for: market |
Search for: management |
Search for: share |
Search for: company |
Search for: index |
Search for: indices |
Search for: exchange |
Search for: credit |
Search for: Bulgaria |
