Bosnian Bourse Indices End Mixed as Markets Brace for October Bustle

“The downward trend in Sarajevo continues, although investors showed renewed interest. But they are still cautious and in stand-by mode,” Ahmed Hodzic, Director of the Sarajevo-based brokerage Fima Int., told SeeNews.

“I expect volumes and prices to go up in October when a bunch of regional equity market conferences are scheduled to take place in Varazdin and Zagreb in Croatia and here in Sarajevo. They will shift investor focus to the region […] Prices currently are undervalued,” Hodzic said.

The SASX-10 index, tracking the 10 blue chips on the Sarajevo Stock exchange (SASE), Bosnia’s bigger bourse, edged down 0.40% from last Friday to 1,552.80 points.

”The biggest problem in Sarajevo now is low volume. It would be good if daily turnover was at least one million marka ($750,000/512,000 euro),” Hodzic said.

SASE’s turnover this week slumped to 6.04 million marka from 15.00 million marka last week.

Road builder GP Bosnaputevi posted SASE’s highest weekly turnover of 2.83 million marka. It had an average weighted price of 15.30 marka on Tuesday, the last time it traded, up from 15.00 marka at the previous trading on September 2.

SASX-10’s top performer was Zenica-based Bank Investiciono-Komercijalna (IK) Banka, which gained 5.44% to an average weighted price of 147.00 marka, SASE said in its weekly trading report.

The top loser in the index was ABS Banka, owned by Austria’s Steiermarkische Sparkasse, which lost 6.29% to an average weighted price of 370.00 marka.

SASE’s other index, BIFX, which tracks investment funds, fell 4.34% this week to 2,895.41 points.

The benchmark BIRS index of Bosnia’s smaller bourse, the Banja Luka Stock Exchange (BLSE), reversed a long downward trend with turnover almost quadrupling to 6.26 million marka from 1.62 million marka last week.

BIRS gained 0.69% from the previous week to 1,427.65 points. The BLSE investment fund index FIRS also edged up by a weekly 0.40% to 2,643.71 points.

Most traded on the official market were the shares of wholesaler and outdoor market operator Trznica Banja Luka, with a turnover of 191,255 marka and an average weighted price of 2.43 marka, down 6.54% from last Friday.

ZIF Invest Nova Fond had the highest turnover of 595,120 marka among investment funds this week, losing 3.13% to close at a weighted average price of 0.12 marka on Friday. BLB-Profit was the biggest gainer with a 9.93% rise to 11.18 marka on the week.

Foca-based Vucevo had the highest turnover of 309,241 marka on the free market, reaching an average price of 0.35 marka on Friday, up 72.50% compared to a week ago.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bosnian marka)