Croatian Stocks Sink Further, Mirror Turmoil on World Markets

"The local benchmark CROBEX nosedived another 10.2% in line with the global financial market turmoil and consequently closed at its lowest level since March 2006," an analyst with Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank said.

The 28-share CROBEX index hit 2,209.47 points.

Asian and European markets opened deep in the red in a panic sell-off following a big drop in the U.S. the previous day, which continued on Friday. Stock markets are being battered by fears of a global recession despite concerted international efforts to unclog liquidity.

The CROEMI 20-share index, calculated by Raiffeisenbank Austria, dropped 8.40% to 2,018.33.

The narrowest index, CROX, which tracks the 12 most traded stocks on the Zagreb market and is calculated by the Vienna bourse, sank 8.0% in euro terms 1,368.05.

"Having initially dived to 201 kuna, the top-volume issue T-HT eventually managed to relinquish some of its early losses as the management indicated that the incumbent plans to exceed last year's capex (ca. 13% of sales in 2007)," the analyst with Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank said.

Shares of blue-chip telecommunications company T-HT fell 4.38% to some 218 kuna on the day’s biggest turnover of 32.02 million kuna.

"Shipping companies were yet again hit hard with Uljanik Plovidba spearheading the correction and tumbling 27.7%, while Atlantska Plovidba nosedived 20.7%, " the analyst with Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank added.

Turnover in floor trading was 168.41 million kuna ($31.9 million/23.6 million euro), slightly up from 152.75 million kuna a day earlier.

The fixed-income Crobis index fell 0.25% to 95.54 points.

(1 euro = 7.1382 Croatian kuna)