Bulgarian Stocks Lose Ground, Chimimport Paces Turnover

The SOFIX index, which comprises the 20 most liquid shares trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), slid 0.69% to 458.8 points and the broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, lost 0.77% to 123.07 points.

Total turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, increased to 1.5 million levs ($1.1 million/767,000 euro) from 1.2 million levs on Monday.

On Tuesday, decliners outnumbered advancers 47 by 23 and 17 stocks closed flat.

Three of the 19 blue chips that traded on Tuesday gained ground, three ended unchanged flat and the rest fell. The biggest decliner was lender Corporate Commercial Bank which lost 2.56% to 59 levs in a volume of 1,668 stocks.

A total of 192,639 of Chimimport's ordinary shares were traded, ending unchanged at 2.91 levs. A total of 7,680 Chimimport preferred shares also changed hands, closing 1.69% lower at 2.85 levs.

Grain and oilseed trader Zarneni Hrani Bulgaria, majority-owned by Chimimport, was also heavily traded in a volume of 280,900 stocks, closing down 0.82% at 0.73 levs.

The BG-REIT index, which tracks the performance of real estate investment trusts, ended 0.36% lower at 49.33 points and the BG TotalReturn30 index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, dipped 0.77% to 346.67 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, skidded 0.64% to 65.35 points.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)