September 18 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian stocks closed lower on Friday ahead of a four-day weekend, while turnover remained almost unchanged, bourse data showed.
The SOFIX index, which comprises the 20 most liquid shares trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), fell 1.40% to 504.16 points. The broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, ended 1.98% lower at 134.49 points.
On Thursday the SOFIX gained 1.92%, while the BG40 rose 1.44%.
Turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, rose slightly to 3.7 million levs ($2.78 million/1.89 million euro) from Thursday’s to 3.6 million levs.
On Friday, decliners led gainers by 52 to 31, while four stocks closed unchanged.
Fifteen of the 20 SOFIX members closed lower, three ended higher, and engineering, construction and energy group Enemona closed unchanged after being the biggest gainer on Thursday. No stocks of blue-chip fertiliser producer Neochim changed hands for a second trading session running.
The biggest decliner in the SOFIX was fuel and building materials retailer Toplivo, which BSE will drop from the index on Wednesday, the first working day after the long weekend. Toplivo stock fell 11.57% to 5.21 levs in a volume of 16,662 shares.
Car battery maker MonBat was the biggest gainer in the SOFIX, adding 1.03% to 7.83 levs in a volume of 15,401 shares.
Blue chip Central Cooperative Bank and financial and insurance group Eurohold Bulgaria, part of the BG40, were the most liquid companies on the Sofia stock market on Friday. Eurohold Bulgaria will replace Toplivo in the SOFIX on Wednesday.
A total of 225,013 shares of Central Cooperative Bank changed hands with the stock closing 1.51% lower at 1.63 levs. A total of 202,491 shares of Eurohold Bulgaria were traded with the price rising 20.0% to 1.80 levs.
The BG-REIT, which tracks the performance of real estate investment trusts, was the only share index to rise on Friday, gaining 1.28% to 48.31 points. The BG TotalReturn30 index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, inched down 0.84% to 371.59 points.
On Thursday, the BG-REIT added 3.0% and the BG TotalReturn30 rose 1.94%.
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, fell by 0.78% to 72.2 points, after advancing 2.59% in the previous trading session.
Monday will be a non-working day in Bulgaria, bridging the weekend with the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday.
(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)