Which stocks were most traded last week?

On the Zagreb Stock Exchange, the Crobex index weakened for the fifth consecutive week last week, diving to its lowest level since the end of September, with cautious trading due to political uncertainty regarding the formation of the government.

The Crobex index fell by 0.91 percent last week, to 1,673 points, marking its fifth consecutive weekly decline and reaching its lowest level since September 29, when it stood at 1,672 points. The Crobex10 index also weakened by 0.35 percent, to 994 points. Regular trading amounted to 40.8 million kuna, which is approximately 20 million less than the previous week. Additionally, block transactions accounted for another 5.5 million kuna in trading.

– Last week, the Crobex ended in the red for the fifth consecutive week. Generally, there is a lack of market drivers. This is evident from the trading volume, which averaged between 8 and 9 million kuna daily, says Ivana Kovačić, senior analyst in the Economic Research Department of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank.

As she adds, the data on solid economic growth in the third quarter clearly did not influence the change in market sentiment.

The State Bureau of Statistics confirmed on Friday its first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter of 2.8 percent year-on-year, the fastest growth since the second quarter of the pre-recession 2008.

The highest trading volume, 8.3 million kuna, was achieved last week by HT shares, with their price rising slightly by 0.07 percent to 143 kuna. In a block transaction of these shares, an additional turnover of about 3 million kuna was achieved at the same price. Following with a turnover of about 7 million kuna was the preferred share of the Adris Group, whose price fell by 0.8 percent to 368 kuna. The regular shares of that company had a turnover of 310 thousand kuna, during which they decreased by 1.2 percent to 575 kuna. With a turnover of 3.2 million kuna, the Podravka share rose by 0.8 percent to 332.60 kuna. With a turnover of 3 million kuna, the Valamar Riviera share saw its price drop by 1.50 percent to 23.64 kuna. A significant turnover of 2.5 million kuna was also achieved by the shares of Ericsson Nikola Tesla, which also decreased by 0.85 percent to 976.61 kuna. The same turnover was achieved in a block transaction of Čakovečki Mlinovi shares at a price of 5,000 kuna. In regular trading, an additional 560 thousand kuna was achieved with this share, during which its price rose by 3.4 percent to 4,975 kuna. The shares of Atlantic Group saw their price fall by 0.9 percent to 830.11 kuna, with a turnover of 2.1 million kuna. Over a million kuna in turnover was also achieved last week by the shares of Janafa, Kraša, and Turisthotel. The Janafa share rose by 0.65 percent to 4,470 kuna, while Turisthotel increased by 4.7 percent to 2,650 kuna, and the price of Kraša remained unchanged at 465 kuna on a weekly basis.

Last week, attention was also drawn to the news that Ina signed a contract for a long-term multi-currency revolving credit worth 300 million dollars, which was realized by obtaining funds in the domestic and international markets and involving seven financial institutions in the transaction. With a turnover of about 630 thousand kuna, the price of Ina shares remained unchanged at 3,250 kuna on a weekly basis. Slim trading and calm trading are a result, analysts say, of political uncertainty regarding the formation of the government.

– Investors are still waiting to see what will happen with the formation of the government. They are also monitoring developments on foreign exchanges. After the ECB partially disappointed with its latest monetary policy decisions on Thursday, investor focus is shifting to the upcoming Fed meeting, concludes Kovačić.

On European exchanges, stock prices sharply fell last week. The London FTSE index dropped by 2.1 percent, while the Frankfurt DAX plummeted by 4.8 percent, and the Paris CAC by 4.4 percent. For days, stock prices on European exchanges had been rising in anticipation of new stimulus measures from the ECB, but on Thursday they sharply fell as the central bank disappointed. However, the ECB extended the duration of its bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, by six months, until March 2017. Nevertheless, investors expected an increase in the value of that program from the current approximately 1 trillion euros, which did not happen.

On the other hand, on Wall Street, stock prices slightly rose last week. The Dow Jones index strengthened by 0.3 percent, and the S&P 500 by 0.1 percent, as data on strong employment growth in the U.S. in November led investors to conclude that the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand the first interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank since 2006, which is expected in mid-month.