Bulgarian Share Indices Extend Losses in Lower Turnover

The SOFIX index, which comprises the 20 most liquid shares trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), lost 1.2% to 463.33 points and the the broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, ended 0.95% lower at 127.16%.

On Friday, the SOFIX fell 1.51% and the BG40 shed 2.16%.

Turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, dropped to 1.3 million levs ($971,000/665,000 euro) from 2.0 million levs on Friday.

State-owned tobacco group Bulgartabac Holding was among the most liquid stocks as 15,619 company shares were traded, ending 1.74% down at 22.6 levs.

Industrial conglomerate Chimimport was also heavily traded as 58,779 of its ordinary shares and 51,781 of its preferred shares changed hands. The two types of stocks closed at 2.41 levs each, 0.82% down and 0.99% down, respectively.

Decliners led advancers 50 by 21 and 11 shares ended flat on Monday.

Car battery maker MonBat was the worst performing blue chip. Its stock price plunged 5.40% to 7.0 levs in a volume of 5,854 shares.

The BG-REIT index, which tracks the performance of real estate investment trusts, shed 1.6% to 48.45 points after falling by 1.87% in the previous session. The BG TotalReturn30 index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, skidded 0.66% to 353.03 points, after dropping 2.26% on Friday.

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, inched 0.29% down to 67.77 points. It slid 2.64% in the previous session.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)