THE CYPRUS stock exchange headed south yesterday on thin volumes that kept buyers and sellers at bay, with the market trading rangebound for the near-term.
The benchmark index trimmed 6.58 points from Friday’s close to settle at 608.43 on a traded value of £17.3 million, £2.5 million higher than Friday but still comparatively low.
The market opened at 611.09 and edged marginally higher to 611.16 then started descending, hitting a day low of 616.45 before climbing back up to its closing level.
"Volumes are quite satisfactory… the volumes would have been lower if there had not been block trades," said stockbroker Andreas Leonidou.
Traders said the market was seen trading between 600 and 640 in the near term, with a more definitive course only likely after more companies start issuing their results.
"The first indication will be next week with Laiki," a trader said.
Laiki’s board of directors will be meeting on March 7 to review 1999 financial results and approve dividend policy.
There were 2,975 deals yesterday, which is also significantly lower than deals of more than 4,000 seen daily until mid-February.
"Traded volume is down meaning that there is not enough liquidity around for new purchases," said another stockbroker.
There did not appear to be many willing sellers on the market amid expectations that prices would soon start going up once new investment firms started investing on the market, he said.
"Sellers are reluctant and buyers are hesitant. The market does not have any real pressure," he said.
All seven sub-sectors registered declines, led by a 2.7 per cent drop in small cap investment stocks, and a 2.12 per cent decline for service companies.
Banking shares, which hold more than half the bourse’s capitalisation of around £13 billion, retreated 0.6 per cent.
Bank of Cyprus fell 14 cents to £9.35 on a turnover of 271,000 shares, while Popular climbed eight cents to £14.82.
Of 88 shares traded, 68 declined and 13 advanced while seven were unchanged.
Louis Cruise Lines dominated trading with 663,932 shares changing hands.
Meanwhile, computer services firm Avacom said yesterday it had entered agreement to take a 30 per cent equity stake in Greece’s TEC A.E. Consultancy in a deal worth 125 million drachmas (about CY£215,000).
Avacom said the deal would allow subsidiary Global Data Solutions Ltd. to take a 20 per cent equity stake in TEC, while another subsidiary, Avacom Net Services Ltd, would take a 10 per cent stake.
"This agreement gives Avacom Computer Services a strong basis for expansion plans in Greece and nearby regions," Avacom said in a statement.
