ZSE: We Have a Good Foundation for September

In the absence of significant news from the domestic business sector, investors on the Zagreb Stock Exchange lack guidance, so calm trading is expected today, with stagnation of the Crobex.

Of the 7 analysts from brokerage firms who participated in Hina’s survey, 5 expect stagnation of the Crobex today, while 2 expect a decline.

The Crobex index slipped by 0.61 percent yesterday, to 1,842 points, while the Crobex10 fell by 0.64 percent, to 1,038 points.

Regular trading in shares amounted to 9.45 million kuna, which is approximately 3 million more than the previous day.

The highest turnover was achieved by HT shares, at 1.2 million kuna, with a price decrease of 0.9 percent, to 175.90 kuna.

Million kuna turnover was also achieved by Ledo shares, whose price fell by 1.78 percent, to 8,075 kuna, and Dioki shares, whose price soared by 22.26 percent, to 28.12 kuna.

– After four days of growth, the Crobex recorded a slight decline yesterday, with somewhat higher liquidity than in previous days. There are still no significant news from the domestic business sector, so investors lack guidance to position themselves more strongly in the market, therefore I expect stagnation of the index today – says Tamas Nagy, a broker at Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank.

Compared to August of last year, both the level of turnover and the movement of the index are similar.

– We can say that trading in August is stable, and we have a good foundation for September, when we expect new data on the tourist season – notes Nagy.

From macroeconomic announcements, today the State Bureau of Statistics will publish data on gross and net salaries in Croatia and the registered unemployment rate.

On foreign exchanges, uncertainty remains regarding the next monetary moves of the Fed.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index fell for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, as it is still unclear when the Fed will begin to reduce the stimulative monetary measures that have long supported stock price growth, even after the release of the minutes from the recent meeting of the U.S. central bank leaders.

The Dow Jones weakened by 0.70 percent, to 14,897 points, while the S&P 500 slipped by 0.58 percent, to 1,642 points, and the Nasdaq index by 0.38 percent, to 3,598 points.

Asian stock prices also fell this morning, as rising yields on U.S. bonds could raise borrowing costs worldwide, so investors were not encouraged by better-than-expected economic data from China.

– On most foreign exchanges, indices weakened, primarily influenced by the minutes from the last Fed meeting. It has been shown that most members of the Open Market Committee agree that the bond-buying program should be reduced by the end of the year if stable economic growth continues in the U.S. It seems that the era of cheap money, at least in terms of the U.S., is coming to an end. In the Eurozone, we still expect the ECB to continue with stimulus – concludes Nagy.