SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 12 (SeeNews) – Bulgarian stock indices ended mixed on Friday in positive sentiment and no deep correction seen by February or March as investors are optimistic about the companies’ nine-month financial results, brokers said on Friday.
The SOFIX index of the 17 blue chips on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) rose 1.55% to 1,946.55 points while the broad BG 40 index edged down 0.31% to 611.14 points.
“We may be in the last stage of growth before the long-awaited correction comes and everyone is selling less profitable shares […] It may be a fact in February or March,” Dimitar Bakalov, a financial analyst at Ug Market brokerage.
Both the SOFIX and BG 40 index posted significant rises in the past month and the market has been mostly up since the beginning of the year, when the country joined the European Union.
Until the possible correction the market will be driven by expectations for the good companies’ financial results, he added.
Among gainers on Friday were lead and zinc smelter OTZK, Industrial Holding Bulgaria and infrastructure building company Moststroy, Bakalov said.
OTZK closed 4.4% higher at 118.99 levs in a volume of nearly 4,990 shares as investors expect it to post good financial results for the first nine months of the year, he said. Moststroy rose 5.4% to a close of 1,950 levs as 212 shares changed hands. Industrial Holding Bulgaria closed at 16.4 levs, up 2.2% in a volume of 41,520 shares.
On the losing side were heavyweight paint producer Orgachim and ship repairer Odessos as Orgachim ended 0.4% lower at 805 levs and Odessos lost 0.7% to a close of 387 levs. Some 220 shares in Odessos and 900 stocks of Orgachim changed hands on Friday.
On Friday 76 shares rose, 68 fell and 21 ended flat.
Total turnover on the BSE fell to 24.9 million levs ($18.1 million/12.7 million euro) from 42.8 million levs on Thursday.
BSE's BG TotalReturn30 (BG TR30) index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, gained 0.68% to 1,213.38. The BG-REIT index, which tracks the performance of real estate investment trusts traded on the stock exchange, lost 1.41% to 102.81 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 0.57% to 305.57 points.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)