Shares rise then fall in day of nervous trading

SHARE prices trimmed an early rally to end 0.3 per cent lower yesterday on mixed trading with losses in small to medium cap stocks outstripping marginal declines in
heavier-capitalised sectors.

Floor traders said nervousness among investors was evident on the trading floor, as many sought to capitalise on the opening minutes of the session where the all-share index climbed as high as two per cent before subsiding.

The CSE all-share ended 1.44 points down to 468.97, trading between a large spread of 481.01, the intraday high, and 461.75, the day’s low.

Turnover reached £20.5 million on 5,155 deals recorded.

SB Unigrowth’s Stelios Bekris predicted the market would trade in a range of 450 to 550 points within the next one to two months.

"There are bargains to be found at these levels," he told reporters.

Bekris said a pattern of sudden corrections following advances could be explained in part by institutional investors who were block buying at low levels, but offloading them when smaller investors made their foray on the market.

And repeating advice voiced several times over the past few days by his colleagues, Bekris added: "Investors should not look at the price of a stock. The economic fundamentals of a company must be looked at before buying."

Banking stocks were 0.35 points lower after rallying on Friday by 4.5 per cent.

Individually, Bank of Cyprus trimmed six cents from its share price to close at £7.59 on a turnover which edged on 600,000 shares; Cyprus Popular Bank ordinary shares were down 10 cents to a last trade of £12.39 while Hellenic Bank were off five to £2.76.

Universal Savings Bank outperformed its heavyweight peers, climbing 40 cents to a last trade of £5.30, making it the highest net gainer of the day with an eight per cent rise.

In terms of market volume, Louis was again the most actively traded stock, rising six cents to 1.52 on a turnover of 2.11 million shares. Bank of Cyprus followed.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.