Today, the Zagreb Stock Exchange expects a continuation of a slightly greater focus from investors on the shipping sector due to the rise in freight rates in the global shipping market, and whether Crobex will rise or stagnate will largely depend on liquidity. Of the 10 analysts from brokerage firms who participated in Hina’s survey, six expect an increase in Crobex today, while four expect stagnation.
Last week, Crobex ended trading at 2,138 points, unchanged from the previous week. Crobex10, on the other hand, strengthened slightly by 0.28 percent, to 1,140 points. Regular trading in shares reached almost 100 million kuna, which is about 15 million more than a week earlier. "Due to the failure of the project in Montenegro, construction shares were the losers of the week, especially IGH and Tehnika. However, the shipping sector ensured that last week was not entirely bleak," emphasizes Žaran Perić, investment advisor at the brokerage firm EA Sistem. Due to the failure of the domestic construction consortium in realizing the ‘job of the century’ for the construction of a highway in Montenegro, IGH shares recorded a price drop of 13.3 percent last week, to 2,540 kuna, while Tehnika shares fell by 10.5 percent, to 1,590 kuna. Negative sentiment among investors also affected other construction issues, with only Dalekovod shares achieving a minimal price increase, related to the announcement of the construction of a shopping center in Buzin, worth almost 81 million euros.
Today, however, media reports may attract investors’ attention that the contract for the construction of that shopping center with the Austrian M2 Supernova was first signed by the company Zagorje Tehnobeton (ZTB) back in January. It appears that the investor, because ZTB did not accept additional requested obligations outside the contract after the contract was concluded, also contracted the same job with Dalekovod without regulating its relations with ZTB, so that construction company is now preparing a lawsuit. The last week’s surge in the dry bulk freight index BDI by 18.4 percent, to 3,242 points, has spurred the rise in prices of domestic shipping companies. The increase in freight rates is a result of the end of the New Year celebrations in China, after which local companies replenish their stocks from imports. In addition, negotiations between China and leading global suppliers of iron ore are also gaining momentum. It is assumed that in these negotiations, a price of 90 dollars per ton of ore could be agreed upon, which is 50 percent higher than last year, so it is logical to expect a continuation of the rise in BDI, notes Perić.
