Trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange did little to raise pulses at the beginning of the week, with only industrial conglomerate Chimimport and fuel retailer Petrol producing some action.
Gains by the two companies helped the blue-chip Sofix index of the 16 most liquid shares on the BSE end higher on June 19.
The Sofix rose 1.2 per cent to 1364.54 points and the broad BG40 index went up by 0.03 per cent to 296.65 points. The reason was Chimimport’s rise which started on June 18, Tsvetomir Tsachev, capital market analyst at Elana Fund Management, told SeeNews wire agency. Chimimport ended up 2.6 per cent higher at 11.65 leva on a volume of about 78 100 shares.
Tsachev said the price of Chimimport shares went up mainly because it had been increasing slower than many of the other shares included in the Sofix.
He said that the market could go up in the week starting June 25, stirred by increased liquidity following the start of trading of shares in First Investment Bank (FIBank), which ran its initial public offering in May. However, he said that the more likely scenario was that the indices calm down in a summer lull by the end of the month. Tsachev said that judging by the trading of shares in Corporate Commercial Bank, which made its floor debut on June 18, not many investors would start selling shares in Corpbank in search of fast gains.
Shares in Petrol closed 5.5 per cent higher at 4.80 leva with nearly 8000 shares changing hands.
On June 19 gainers led decliners by 58 to 48 with 19 shares ending flat. The total turnover fell to 7.2 million leva from 9.36 million leva on June 18.
While some won and others lost, trading in shares in Orgachim, Kremikovtzi and Chimco is yet to be resumed on the BSE. The initial three-day suspension of the trade in the three stocks was extended. The penalty was also imposed on 23 other companies that had not submitted their financial reports for the first quarter of 2007. The decision to suspend trade was taken by the Financial Supervision Commission.
This is the second time Kremikovtzi’s stock has been suspended from trading on the BSE. Trading in the stock will resume only after the company submits its annual report for 2006 and its report for the first quarter of 2007.
Orgachim was also suspended from trading on the BSE. The penalty was a surprise for investors as the stock price of the company recently reached a record high of 277.13 leva a share. The financial report of the company will be filed as soon as possible, Ivan Sokolov, executive director of the company, told Bulgarian-language Pari daily. The company cited software problems as the reason for not publishing their report. Orgachim is one of the most liquid and attractive companies on the BSE.
It is still uncertain as to when Vratsa-based Chimco will publish its report because of the constant problems of the plant and its insolvency.
