The mood on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) remained uncertain, despite some positive activity on March 24, brokers told SeeNews wire agency. On March 24 indices ended higher than usual on a lower turnover. However, investors were still suspicious and uncertain, brokers said.

“Indices rose by more than one per cent but the uncertainty of investors is obvious. They are very timid, very uncertain,” Severin Vartigov, a portfolio manager at BenchMark Asset Management, told SeeNews.

The Sofix index, which includes the 19 most liquid stocks on the BSE, gained 1.18 per cent to end at 1199.44 points, after losing 10.35 per cent the week of March 17-21. The broad BG 40 index, which tracks the 40 most liquid companies on the exchange, ended 1.3 per cent higher at 343.13 after plunging 9.46 per cent last week.

“Trading was not very active. Although the volume reached about 8.5 million leva, half of it was for block and pre-agreed deals. So actually it was four and a half million, which was the average for the past two months,” Vartigov said.

Newcomers Enemona, an engineering, construction and energy group, and Billboard, a printing and advertising company, which started trading earlier this year were among those shares gaining value on March 24, Vartigov said. Enemona shares added 3.39 per cent to end the day’s trading at 17.6 leva on a volume of 30 575 shares. Billboard gained 2.63 per cent to 8.52 leva as 22 196 shares changed hands.

Blue-chip industrial group Synergon Holding jumped 5.25 per cent to nine leva on a volume of 118 149 shares.

First-quarter financial results, which are due next month, will influence whether the stock market in Sofia will stay in a long-term positive trend or remain unstable, Vartigov said. “Currently companies were being traded at quite attractive levels. I believe that the market has the potential to rise,” he told SeeNews.

Overall, 71 shares rose, 58 fell and 12 ended unchanged. BSE’s total turnover, including block transactions and other pre-agreed deals, fell 0.9 million leva from 9.4 million leva on March 21.