Croatian Share Indices Extend Fall in Low Liquidity

“Low liquidity and a declining trend continue to be the main characteristics of the domestic capital market as stock turnover amounted to 37.9 million kuna ($5.3 million/6.8 million euro) while [the bourse’s benchmark index] CROBEX declined 2.7% to 1,818.22 points,” said Neven Salamon, an analyst with consultancy Fima Fas.

The benchmark extended its negative run to five consecutive days on Wednesday. A day earlier, turnover in floor trading was 50.6 million kuna.

On Wednesday the CROEMI 20-share index, calculated by Raiffeisenbank Austria, shed 2.21% to 1,650.87.

The narrowest index, CROX, which tracks the 12 most traded stocks on the Zagreb market and is calculated by the Vienna bourse, declined 2.02% in euro terms to 1,102.13 points.

Telecommunications company T-HT, an index heavyweight, attracted the day’s largest turnover of 11.1 million kuna as its share price fell 0.51% to 203.10 kuna.

Blue-chip food producer Podravka dipped 0.28% to 284 kuna on 6.3 million kuna of turnover.

All other seven issues with a turnover above one million kuna posted losses. Oil and gas company INA marked the heaviest drop among them, sliding 7.05% to an all-time low of 1,180.50.

The fixed-income CROBIS index added 0.04% to 89.24 points.

Trading was suspended temporarily on Wednesday due to technical problems, the bourse said.

(1 euro = 7.1280 Croatian kuna)