News on Interest in CO and Triglav Revives Trading in Adris

The strong growth of global stock markets last week also spurred a jump in the Zagreb Stock Exchange index, while a series of news from the domestic business sector contributed to a more active trading environment.

The Crobex index jumped 1.66 percent last week to 1,767 points, the highest level since November 7, when it closed at 1,776 points. The Crobex10 rose by 1.65 percent to 999.78 points, nearing the 1,000-point mark, a level it last reached on May 4. The regular turnover last week amounted to 86.5 million kuna, approximately 15.5 million more than the previous week.

“In line with movements on foreign exchanges, the Crobex indices rose more than 1.6 percent last week after a six-day negative streak. Some business news brought a bit more liveliness to the market. For instance, news from Vira indicated that the management is considering withdrawing shares from the regulated market and proposing a dividend payout of 20 kuna per share, which resulted in increased trading volume for that stock,” says Ana Vitaić Gladović, an analyst in the Economic Research Department of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank.

The share of Vira increased by 1.52 percent last week to 533 kuna, with a turnover of 6.3 million kuna. The company announced last Friday that an extraordinary general meeting on December 27 will decide on the proposal for a dividend payout from retained earnings of 20 kuna per share and on the withdrawal of the share from listing on the regulated market.

The highest turnover was recorded in the shares of Končar Elektroindustrija, slightly over 18 million kuna, of which the majority, more than 17 million kuna, was achieved on Friday. Its price rose by 5.99 percent to 650 kuna. Končar announced on Thursday that it signed a contract worth around 60 million kuna with HT for the reconstruction of the existing HT facility on Selska Road in Zagreb and its equipping into a new data center.

The share of HT recorded a turnover of 7.8 million kuna, with a price drop of 1.43 percent to 204 kuna. Vitaić Gladović adds that alongside the usual most liquid issues, the share of Dalekovod was also in greater focus for investors as they await the outcome of negotiations between the management and its creditors regarding the unblocking of accounts. After being under strong pressure for three weeks, the share of Dalekovod strengthened by 10.13 percent last week to 75 kuna, with a turnover of 4.3 million kuna.

“There was also significant trading in the shares of Adrisa after the company confirmed interest in entering the insurance market, specifically for participation in the privatization of Croatia osiguranje and the purchase of shares in Triglav with the aim of consolidating the largest domestic and Slovenian insurance company,” emphasizes Vitaić Gladović.

The regular share of Adrisa rose by 1.89 percent to 270 kuna, with a turnover of 1.62 million kuna, while the preferred share of the company fell by 0.20 percent to 244.50 kuna, with a turnover of 2.43 million.

Additionally, Finance Minister Slavko Linić presented a long-awaited property tax proposal on Thursday, under which a tax rate of 1.5 percent would apply to all properties starting from April 1 next year, based on a tax base of 70 percent of the fiscal value of the property reduced by prescribed allowances. Various allowances will apply to that 70 percent of the fiscal value, depending on whether the property is used or not. However, the stock market did not react significantly.

“So far, there has been no pronounced impact of the presented property tax on the shares of the construction sector,” notes Vitaić Gladović.

“In the coming days, the domestic market could also be influenced by movements on foreign exchanges, given that important negotiations are taking place in both Europe and America,” believes Vitaić Gladović.

Last week, stock prices on global exchanges rose sharply, thanks to investors’ hopes that Washington will manage to resolve budget issues by the end of the year, and positive signs of stabilization in the American and Chinese economies also positively affected the markets.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones strengthened by 3.3 percent last week, while the S&P 500 jumped 3.6 percent and the Nasdaq index rose 4 percent.

European stock prices also rose sharply last week. The London FTSE index strengthened by 3.8 percent, while the Frankfurt DAX jumped 5.1 percent and the Paris CAC rose by 5.6 percent.