On the wings of the growth of the global capital market in the first quarter of this year, CROBEX, the main index of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, has significantly increased. It rose by as much as 12 percent, which is an even more interesting result considering that only a few global indices recorded double-digit growth in the first quarter, as reported by the Zagreb Stock Exchange.
Among them is the Nasdaq, one of the three main American indices, which ended the quarter with an almost 17 percent increase, primarily thanks to shares of technology companies. The Dow Jones also finished the first quarter in the green, but with a modest growth of 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 rose by 7.5 percent. European main indices simultaneously grew by four to 4.7 percent.
– While we hear announcements of economic Armageddons from all sides, the bulls are actually awakening from their slumber after 2022. Investors are returning to technology stocks that they avoided for most of last year. This is a particularly interesting turnaround in a market that seems concerned about the FED’s interest rate policy and the risks of an impending recession. Clearly, investors are betting that interest rates will soon peak or may have already done so. There could even be a loosening, primarily due to the shaken banking sector that lacks liquidity, and in this environment of lower interest rates and a greater amount of money in circulation, many see a premium return to old and beloved technology names. Some stocks in that sector have likely reached a long-term bottom, and in that case, they should present good buying opportunities after minor corrections, oscillations, and declines. Time will, of course, reveal the true face of the current dilemmas, but one should never forget that capital markets anticipate crises. When they analyze and absorb them, they then choose winners over the crisis that others are just beginning to notice – comments Milan Horvat, a pioneer of the domestic capital market and director of FIMA Plus on the happenings in the global capital market.
