Croatian Stocks Plunge in Meagre Turnover

Turnover in floor trading was 24.8 million kuna ($4.5 million/3.5 million euro), down from 26.5 million kuna a day earlier, hitting a two-week low.

The bourse’s 28-share CROBEX index sank 4.35% to 1,607.29 points, its lowest level since the end of November 2004.

"The local benchmark Crobex nosedived to 1,600 points level on broad-based market weakness and consequently significantly underperformed other regional indices," said an analyst with Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank.

On Friday, the CROEMI 20-share index, calculated by Raiffeisenbank Austria, lost 3.26% to 1,481.95 points.

The narrowest index, CROX, which tracks the 12 most traded stocks on the Zagreb market and is calculated by the Vienna bourse, fell 3.07% in euro terms to 1,002.71 points.

Telecommunications company T-HT, an index heavyweight, was the most traded company, as shares with a total worth of 4.1 million kuna changed hands. Its share price fell 2.00% to 196 kuna, falling below the psychological level of 200 kuna.

Civil engineering institute IGH tumbled 6.45% to 3,639 kuna on 3.1 million kuna of turnover. The Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank analyst said the company’s shares closed the session at an all-time low on media speculation that one of the company's largest domestic clients, state-owned motorway operator HAC, is facing liquidity problems and certain planned investment in road infrastructure will be stalled, delayed or lowered amid tightened credit conditions.

Shipping company Atlantska Plovidba fell 10.62% to 581 kuna on 2.2 million kuna of turnover. Another shipping company and CROBEX member, Uljanik Plovidba, went down 4.88% to 585 kuna on 335,805 kuna of turnover.

"Shipping companies Atlantska Plovidba and Uljanik Plovidba were hit hard amid further correction of the Baltic Dry Index to 715 points due to poor global economic outlook. The latter becomes even more evident following the latest revision of China's GDP growth to 7.5% in 2009 from initially expected growth of 9.2%, according to the World Bank," the analyst added.

The Baltic Dry Index tracks world freight rates for dry cargo vessels.

Constriction shares INGRA and Dalekovod lost roughly 12% each, to 72.50 kuna and 305 kuna respectively, on turnovers of less than two million kuna each.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by 58 to 16 and 12 shares ended unchanged.

The fixed-income CROBIS index added 0.02% to 89.55 points.

(1 euro = 7.1329 Croatian kuna)