Bulgarian Stock Indices Mostly Extend Losses, Volumes Down

The SOFIX index, which comprises the 20 most liquid shares trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), posted a drop of 1.25% to 469.55 points which matched its losses from a day earlier. The broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, skidded 1.22% to 127.74 points after losing 0.76% on Wednesday.

Turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, fell to 1.0 million levs ($766,000/511,000 euro) from Wednesday's 1.2 million levs.

Blue-chip engineering, construction and energy group Enemona was one of the most liquid stocks in a volume of 11,788 shares. The company was the session's worst-performing blue chip, plunging 4.57% to 10.65 levs.

Eighteen of the SOFIX components were traded on Thursday. Two of them closed unchanged, as many gained less than 1.0% each and all the rest lost ground.

On Thursday, fallers outnumbered gainers 54 to 19 and 10 shares closed unchanged.

The BG-REIT index, which tracks the performance of real estate investment trusts, was the only index to find positive ground on Thursday, closing 0.14% higher at 48.72 points. The BG TotalReturn30 index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, slid 0.88% to 356.43 points.

On Wednesday, the BG-REIT dropped 2.54% and the BG TotalReturn30 lost 0.15%.

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, retreated 1.24% to 68.51% after adding 0.46% on the previous day.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)