Slovenian Stock Indices Extend Losses on Global Markets Slump

After falling slightly on Tuesday, the blue-chip SBITOP index of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) slid 3.01% to 891.28 points and the broader 15-share SBI20 index dropped 2.69% to 3,828.52 points on Wednesday.

“Trading on the Ljubljana bourse continued in negative mood today after the American and European markets fell deeply yesterday,” local brokerage house Ilirika said in a daily note.

All blue chips in Ljubljana registered losses on Wednesday. Rubber-to-tourism holding company Sava was the biggest loser among them, dipping 5.38% to an average price of 238.24 euro ($307).

The country’s second largest bank by assets, Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM), recorded the smallest fall among the blue chips, losing 0.31% to 9.52 euro.

Shares in blue-chip drug maker Krka traded most. They dropped 3.81% to 52 euro on turnover of some 851,000 euro.

Total turnover on the LJSE remained low even though it rose to 1.32 million euro on Wednesday from some 816,000 euro on Tuesday. The LJSE has been dogged by weak turnover recently as cautious investors are waiting to see what course the local economy will take amid the global economic slowdown, market analysts have said.

The Slovenian share indices lost some two-thirds of their value last year amidst global market woes.

Market analysts have said the Slovenian equity market is likely to be the first to recover among the markets in southeastern Europe because local investors dominate the Ljubljana bourse and foreign investors. who abandoned the region last year, have a limited role on it.

($ = 0.7751 euro)