Bulgarian Bourse Cheers Up, Turnover Stays Low

The SOFIX index, which includes the 20 most liquid stocks on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), rose 2.25% to 367.29 points, and the broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, advanced 2.31% to 108.87.

BSE's total turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, rose to 19.3 million levs ($12.4 million/9.9 million euro) from 1.1 million levs on Wednesday, lifted by a large-scale transaction in bakery Sofia Mel.

Greek bakery Loulis Mills said on Wednesday it would sell its remaining 35.3% stake in Sofia Mel to Austria's LLI Euromills through the Sofia bourse. A total of 223,939 company shares changed hands at an average price of 77.52 levs.

"Excluding that deal, the turnover was very low. The positive thing is that it is low as there are no sell-offs, something to which we have grown used recently," Maria Atanasova, financial analyst with Sofia-based Bulbrokers, told SeeNews.

Small investors which have been acting very timidly in the past couple of months could start returning to the market and help cheer it up, Atanasova said but added, "However, it is too early to say."

Still, according to her, the positive sentiment would remain by the end of the month but only if there is no negative news.

"The small investors who are now dictating trading will be the first to run away in case of bad corporate or economic news or a negative trend abroad," Atanasova said.

The market reacted to news that hardboard maker Fazerles would lay off one third of its staff, Atanasova also said. Company shares lost 1.2% to 40 levs as just 115 stocks were traded.

State-run news agency BTA reported earlier on Thursday that 116 Fazerles workers were laid off.

Industrial group Synergon Holding was among the most traded companies on Thursday, in a volume of 55,727 stocks. Shares in Synergon ended 0.05% higher at 2.041 levs. The group said last week its nine-month consolidated net profit nearly tripled year-on-year to 20.4 million levs.

On Thursday, advancers led losers 55 to 29 and 16 stocks ended flat.

The BG TotalReturn30 (BG TR30) index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, gained 1.18% to 281.18 points, while the BG-REIT index, tracking the performance of real estate investment trusts, inched 0.55% higher to 47.33 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, rose 0.75% to 56.35 points.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)