Watching the development on world markets has long proved useful for any broker that wants to have a relatively clear view on Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) performance. On July 1, the day when all utility service prices went up, shares traded on the BSE registered a fall in small volumes, the same as the shares on world markets. A major drop though, was seen in industrial blue-chip group Chimimport. On July 1, shares in the company ended 4.64 per cent lower to 8.63 leva in a volume of 17,616 stocks, Razvigor Hristov, an investment consultant with Slovenian-owned KD Securities brokerage in Sofia, told SeeNews wire agency. At the end of the day fall outnumbered gain 61 to 34 and 17 shares closed unchanged with the BSE’s turnover being 4.4 million leva.

“Most liquid stocks fell in unison with international markets which registered a serious drop of two per cent – for example Germany, Italy and England,” Hristov said.

The Sofix index, which includes the 19 most liquid stocks on the BSE, dropped 2.19 per cent to 1,128.61 points and the broad BG40 index, tracking 40 of the most liquid companies, lost 2.24 per cent to 299.6 SeeNews reported.

Besides the foreign factor, companies’ financial reports of the first half of the year, due later in the month, could also influence the market, Hristov said.