Global Stock Markets Surge to Record Levels, Crobex Indices on Historical Highs at ZSE

Last week, indices on the largest global stock exchanges reached record levels, primarily due to a strong rise in stock prices in the technology sector, especially among chip manufacturers.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones strengthened by 1.3 percent last week, reaching 39,131 points, while the S&P 500 jumped 1.7 percent to 5,088 points, and the Nasdaq index rose 1.4 percent to 15,996 points.

The new record levels of the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices are largely attributed to market euphoria following Nvidia reporting higher-than-expected revenues and earnings in the last fiscal quarter, along with an estimate that its revenues will significantly increase in the current quarter. As a result, the stock price of this chip manufacturer surged more than 16 percent on Thursday, increasing the company’s market value by $277 billion. This marks the largest single-day increase in market value for a company in Wall Street history.

Thanks to Nvidia’s results, which indicate that demand for artificial intelligence chips is exceptionally strong, stock prices of several other chip manufacturers also rose. Consequently, the index for the chip manufacturing sector jumped 5 percent in just one day, reaching record levels.

The euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence development positively impacted other sectors as well, causing speculation about when the U.S. central bank would begin to lower interest rates to take a back seat last week.

While some analysts believe that the market still has room for growth, thanks to the momentum in the technology sector, others warn that valuations in that sector are extremely high, suggesting a potential correction in stock prices downward.

European STOXX 600 at Record Level

On most European exchanges, stock prices also rose last week. However, the London FTSE index weakened by 0.1 percent to 7,706 points, while the Frankfurt DAX jumped 1.8 percent to 17,419 points, and the Paris CAC rose 2.5 percent to 7,966 points.

For the German and French indices, these are the highest levels in history, and the STOXX 600 index of leading European stocks also reached a record level, strengthening by 0.4 percent last week.

Thanks to the strong growth of Wall Street and most European exchanges, as well as the record price levels on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the MSCI index of all major global stock exchanges reached record levels last week.

ZSE: Company Results Propel Crobex Indices to Record Levels

As on global exchanges, the main stock indices on the Zagreb Stock Exchange achieved new record levels daily last week, strengthening by a total of 3.7 percent, thanks to good business results from domestic companies.

Crobex index rose by 3.67 percent last week to 2,801 points, while Crobex10 increased by 3.71 percent to 1,675 points, marking new historical levels for both indices. The Crobex index has strengthened for the 13th week, while the Crobex10 has risen for the fourth consecutive week.

Among sector indices, the Crobexindustry saw the highest increase, rising by 8 percent, while the Crobexconstruct fell the most, by 7.6 percent.

Regular trading amounted to €8.2 million, approximately double that of the previous week, attributed to trading in shares of Končar and Končar – Distribution and Special Transformers (Končar D&ST), which were among the biggest gainers. Specifically, the regular shares of Končar D&ST achieved €1.3 million in trading, with a price increase of 18.1 percent to €1,240. The preferred shares generated €228,000 in trading, with a price increase of nearly 17 percent, also to €1,240. The company announced that its consolidated business revenues in 2023 reached €351.4 million, which is 35 percent higher than last year, while net profit surged by 150 percent to nearly €58 million.

Following in trading volume was the share of Ericssona Nikole Tesle, which achieved €1.12 million in trading, with a price decrease of 0.97 percent to €204. Ericsson Nikola Tesla reported a net profit of €22.2 million for the past year, which is 40 percent higher than in 2021. The consolidated financial report of this IT company shows that its sales revenues reached €304.2 million, an increase of 2.2 percent compared to the previous year.

The share of Končar was also in focus for investors, achieving €760,000 in trading, with a price increase of 20.2 percent to €262, making it the largest gainer among the more liquid stocks.

The preferred shares of Adris also had significant trading, amounting to €551,000, with a price increase of 1 percent to €60.6, while the share of HPB saw a significant price jump of 15.53 percent to €238.

Among the companies that reported business results, Hrvatski Telekom stands out, reporting a net profit of €132 million last year, which is 51.8 percent higher than the previous year, with revenues of €1.04 billion or 5.7 percent higher. HT announced that it will disclose the dividend amount for 2023 on March 20, reminding that it paid a dividend of €1.10 per share for 2022. HT shares had a trading volume of €522,000, with the price remaining stable at €27.70.

The biggest loser last week was the share of Instituta IGH, with a price drop of more than 15 percent to €12.4.

A total of 57 stocks were traded on the Exchange last week, with 29 prices rising, 22 falling, and six remaining stable.