On the Zagreb Stock Exchange, stock prices fell by about 0.9 percent by noon, primarily due to poor sentiment on global markets stemming from investor doubts regarding the EU’s plan for stabilizing the eurozone.
At 12:00 PM, the Crobex index was down 0.95 percent, at 2,043 points, while Crobex10 fell 0.88 percent, to 1,098 points. Regular trading volume amounted to 7.5 million kuna, šwhich is about 4 million more than at this time on Friday. Cautious trading on the Zagreb Stock Exchange is mainly a result of uncertainty in global markets. Asian stock prices sharply fell this morning, while leading European indices were slightly up around noon, but not significantly. "As is usual for Monday, trading volumes are low, and only two stocks, HT and Ina, achieved a turnover exceeding one million kuna. Most stock prices are in the ‘red’, šwhich is primarily due to the spillover of negative sentiment from global markets to the domestic market, as there are still many doubts about the stability of the euro and the potential spread of the debt crisis," say analysts at Erste Securities.
Investors on global markets fear that the 750 billion euro EU plan for stabilizing the euro will not be sufficient to address all debt problems in the eurozone and that it will slow down the economic growth of that bloc, šwhich would negatively impact the entire global economy. As a result, the euro is under pressure, trading at its lowest levels against the dollar in four years—around 1.23 dollars. In recent days, investors on the Zagreb Stock Exchange have been particularly interested in how much of the dividend payout from HT will return to the market. HT today paid a total of 2.79 billion kuna in dividends. Considering ownership stakes, Deutsche Telekom receives 51 percent of the total dividend amount, the Croatian Veterans Fund 7 percent, and the Government 3.5 percent. The remaining shares in free circulation are held by private and institutional investors, and they were expected to receive 1.07 billion kuna today. "Given the low turnover, it seems that the funds from HT’s dividends have not immediately channeled into the market," say analysts at Erste Securities. By noon, the turnover for HT shares reached 1.8 million kuna, with the price falling by 1.4 percent to 271.3 kuna. The only millionaire stock remains that of Ina. With a turnover of 1.5 million kuna, its price fell by 0.7 percent to 1,750 kuna. (H)
