Romanian Stock Indices Sink on Global Gloom, Investment Funds Pace Losses

The BET-FI index, which tracks the SIFs, sank 10.5% to 24,625.03 points. The blue-chip BET index of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB, slumped 5.38% to 4,133.77.

The composite BET-C index dropped 5.38% to 3,111.72. The ROTX index of Romania's 15 most liquid stocks, a joint index of the BVB and the Vienna Stock Exchange, lost 4.42% to 10,190.49.

“It was a surprisingly steep decline in light of the slightly upbeat trading that we had last week. We thought the market would hold its ground, but we have again reached new lows as a reaction to the global pessimism,” one broker told SeeNews.

“Even the adoption of the U.S. rescue plan failed to bring a spark of optimism to the international markets, which means total loss of confidence in the financial systems.”

The steep declines happened despite an extra 15 billion euro ($20.4 billion) bailout for the German property lender and the passage in the U.S. of a $700 billion rescue plan for the troubled financial sector late last week.

Romanian stocks have been losing ground in the last three weeks, dragged down by the panic on the international markets following bank collapses in the U.S. and Europe.

“Following such heavy losses it would be normal to have some sort of a recovery early on Tuesday, but again it all depends on how the U.S. market will fare” the broker said.

BVB’s turnover rose to 25.3 million lei ($8.7 million/6.4 million euro) from 19.1 million lei on Friday. The number of shares traded on Monday decreased to 42.2 million from 47.1 million.

SIF 5 Oltenia tumbled by 10.27% to 1.31 lei in the day’s highest turnover of 5.4 million lei. SIF 3 Transilvania dropped 11.27% at 0.63 lei in the day's second largest turnover of 3.1 million lei. SIF 2 Moldova lost 11.54% to 1.15 lei in the day's third largest turnover of 2.9 million lei.

Blue-chip bank BRD declined by 8.77% to 10.4 lei in a 2.5 million lei turnover, and SIF 4 Muntenia slumped 10.38% to 0.82 lei on deals worth 1.9 million lei.

Blue-chip oil and gas group Petrom fell 5.2% to 0.31 lei on deals worth 1.4 million lei, while Romania’s largest fertiliser maker Azomures tumbled by 14.95% to 0.347 lei on 806,500 lei turnover.

Banca Carpatica bank was among the few stocks to close higher, edging up 0.39% to 0.26 lei on 733,000 lei in turnover.

The BET-XT index, which tracks the 25 most liquid blue-chip companies, including the SIFs, dropped 7.02% to 431.72 points. The BET-NG, which includes companies from the energy sector and utilities, fell 5.74% at 589.83.

Rasdaq-C, the composite index of the RASDAQ over-the-counter market, shed 1.09% at 2,688.28. Turnover on RASDAQ fell to 5.7 million lei from 22 million lei on Friday, when it was buoyed by deals with fuel wholesaler Petrom Aviationa and tubes maker Intfor.

(1 euro = 3.9427 Romanian lei)