Hotels struck by latest lows

ANOTHER lacklustre day on the market brought share prices down a further 0.14 per cent to the fourth year low this week but hope is growing that the all-share index might finally be reaching its support level.

Trading opened down at 289 points but managed to pull itself over Wednesday’s 291-point close before sliding back to end at 290.35 points. Volume has slipped dramatically to only £10.6 million compared to the previous day’s low of some £14 million giving rise to hopes that investors will continue to sit tight and not dump any more stocks.

The hotels sector bore the brunt of yesterday’s losses, dropping 2.27 per cent with trading companies coming in second, down 2.19 per cent. The winning sector was tourism with gains of 1.4 per cent, followed by insurance, up 1.28 per cent.

For the first time the banking sector gained slightly but nowhere near a point where it could recover the major losses sustained in the past two months. Bank of Cyprus (BoC) added five cents to close at £5.29 but Laiki slipped again, shaving off one cent to finish at £6.81.

Stocks in the two banks were the most actively traded of the day accounting for some £2 million of total volume. Heavy trading in newcomer Tsokkos Hotels stocks saw the share shed two cents on its second day of trading with over 2.2 million shares changing hands.

GlobalSoft’s long-standing winning streak was interrupted yesterday by a six cents loss which saw the share slip six cents to close at £5.99. Also in the IT sector Logicom sustained a serious blow dropping 18 cents to end at £4.45.

Analysts said despite the losses the market appeared to be stabilising, taking into account the low volumes and the decreasing daily percentage drops in the index. “No one is prepared to sell at these humiliating prices, ” said one broker.

“But the low volume is a step in the right direction for the market Anxiety over the BoC Athens listing, due next week, is still a hurdle which has to be overcome since the Greek flotation could go either way. A negative debut will only add to investors’ woes and dash their hopes of a turnaround.

“There is still a lack of confidence. Investors are afraid of what is going to happen next week on the Greek market,” the broker said.

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.