Bulgarian Stocks Extend Losses Amid Fears of Global Instability

The SOFIX index, which includes the 20 most liquid stocks on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), lost 3.81% to 751.67 points, and the broader BG 40 index, which tracks the 40 most liquid companies on the bourse, dropped 3.61% to 185.87. On Thursday, the SOFIX ended 2.67% lower and the BG 40 index fell 2.89%.

"The drop is not surprising and maybe it won't be the last one having in mind the economic instability in the U.S.," Yavor Batev, investment consultant with Varna-based Varchev Finance, told SeeNews.

On Friday, the shares of 80 companies lost ground, 17 advanced and 16 ended flat. BSE's turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, totalled 3.56 million levs ($2.52 million/1.82 million euro), compared to 3.6 million levs on Thursday.

A number of liquid stocks fell sharply. Blue-chip lender First Investment Bank (FIBank) and drug maker Sopharma, also a component of the SOFIX, were the most traded companies.

A total 113,694 shares in FIBank changed hands closing at 4.15 levs, down 9.73%.

Some 97,600 Sopharma stocks were traded. Shares in the company lost 4.85% to 2.57 levs.

Fuel retailer Petrol, a component of the BG 40 index, was among the worst performers on Friday. Shares in the company, which is not very liquid, sank 29.9% closing at 5.6 levs in a volume of just 420 stocks.

"Only profit taking by speculators at the end of the session saved the other liquid stocks from big falls," Batov said.

The BG TotalReturn30 (BG TR30) index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, plummeted 5.25% to 494.82 points and the BG-REIT index, tracking the performance of real estate investment trusts, ended 0.66% lower at 76.46.

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, dropped 5.53% to 93.29 points.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)