The SOFIX index, which includes the 20 most liquid stocks on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), lost 1.82% to 361.32 points, and the broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, slid 2.76% to 107.00.
"The drops were not surprising, though we expected higher drops. The market was influenced by the U.S. decision not to support the bailout plan for the automobile giants," Stefan Angelov, an analyst with Varna-based Varchev Finance, told SeeNews.
The U.S. Senate rejected late on Thursday a $14 billion (10.5 billion euro) rescue plan for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor.
"The high volatility on international markets is also having its impact on the local capital market," he added.
Some institutional investors backed some of their holdings like Central Cooperative Bank, Angelov said. Shares of the bank ended 4.4% lower at 1.1 levs in a total volume of 80,827 stocks.
Drug maker Sopharma, bridge builder Moststroy and infrastructure company Holding Roads also were backed by institutional investors, Angelov said.
Sopharma closed at 2.2 levs, 3.9% lower, as 18,479 of its shares changed hands. Shares of Moststroy lost 3.3% to 3.77 levs as 736 were traded and Holding Roads ended 3.0% lower at 3.24 levs in a total volume of 4,170 stocks.
BSE's total turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, rose to 4.0 million levs ($2.7 million/2.0 million euro) from 3.3 million levs on Thursday.
On Friday, decliners led gainers by 59 to 32 and 13 shares closed unchanged.
The BG TotalReturn30 (BG TR30) index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, sagged 2.13% to 274.23 points, while the BG-REIT index, tracking the performance of real estate investment trusts, depreciated 2.71% to 45.61 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, was down 1.71 % to 55.72 points.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)
