Sofia bourse indices end higher, turnover jumps

The blue-chip SOFIX index, which tracks the 15 most liquid shares on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), closed 0.84% higher at 521.03 points after losing 0.62% in the previous session.

The broader BGBX40, which tracks the 40 most traded shares, gained 0.65% to 104.06 points after closing 0.51% down on Friday.

Turnover on the regulated market rose to more than 6.9 million levs ($4.3 million/3.5 million euro) from 1.25 million levs on Friday.

Car battery producer MonBat [BUL:5MB] led the SOFIX gainers, closing 3.12% higher at 8.5 levs as 5,018 shares changed hands.

Fertilisers producer Neochim [BUL:3NB] was the top blue-chip decliner, closing 8.59% lower at 35.65 levs in a volume of 1,427 shares.

The BG-REIT index, which tracks the performance of the real estate investment trusts, added 0.12% to 97.07 points after gaining 0.47% in the previous session.

The BG TotalReturn30 index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, was up by 0.53% to 407.86 points after closing 0.1% on Friday.

(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)