Bulgarian Stocks Gain Ground

The SOFIX, which comprises the 20 most liquid shares trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), rose 2.33% to 447.82 points and the broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, climbed 3.69% to 124.53 points.

Turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, dropped to 1.1 million levs ($807,000/562,000 euro) from 1.6 million levs on Wednesday.

On Thursday, 53 stocks advanced, 15 fell and 10 closed flat.

All of the bourse's blue chips traded on Thursday. Three ended lower and one was unchanged.

Fertilisers maker Neochim closed flat at 35 levs in a volume of 345 shares.

Paint producer Orgachim led the SOFIX advancers, surging 10.92% to 96.5 levs in a volume of just 11 stocks, while Corporate Commercial Bank paced the blue-chip decliners with a drop of 1.74% to 53.00 levs as 1,362 stocks changed hands.

Blue-chip lender Central Cooperative Bank was the session's most liquid issue, generating a volume of 105,860 shares. It ended 2.97% higher at 1.49 levs.

The BG-REIT index, tracking the performance of real estate investment trusts, added 0.25% to 44.11 points and the bourse's BG TotalReturn30 index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, picked up 3.26% to 332.31 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, advanced 1.73% to 64.75 points.

(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)