THE ALL-SHARE index posted a slight gain of 0.49 per cent yesterday as it became apparent to investors that Bank of Cyprus (BoC) was not going to flop on its first day on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE).
Trading here opened on a confident note, up on Tuesday’s year low, but dropped sharply in the first 20 minutes before recovering slightly to close at 291 points.
Volume was higher than earlier in the week but still remained low at £17.2 million. When the session closed, brokers were confident BoC would manage to maintain its successful debut on the ASE, which closed some two hours later local time.
BoC shares closed two cents up at £5.33 on the CSE on a volume of £1.6 million, while in Athens the stock managed to gain 0.32 per cent as the ASE banking sector fell 2.14 per cent and the overall Greek index dropped 1.54 per cent.
Opening at 3,150 drachmas (£5.27), the share hit an intra day low of 3,090 before closing at 3,110 with almost 630,000 shares traded, making it one of the most active on the ASE yesterday. “It was an excellent opening for BoC in spite of the drop in the overall index,” said broker Demos Stavrides. “It’s also the beginning for the return of investors` trust in the bank’s stocks.”
He said however the fact the share would be trading on the CSE and the ASE with no up/down limit for the first three days would have to be taken into account. “We still have to wait and see a little. I think tomorrow (today) will be a crucial day,” he added. Stavrides said because (psychologically) the BoC Athens listing was so important to Cypriot investors its effects were bound to be felt on the CSE.
“Because of the importance we attached to it,” he said. BoC’s Athens success yesterday was reflected through out the banking sector, which gained 0.4 per cent. Laiki also benefited, adding four cents to close at £6.93. Apart from the interest in banking stocks on the CSE yesterday, the only other share, which grabbed the attention of Cypriot investors was GlobalSoft, the most actively traded of the day, accounting for almost 50 per cent of total volume.
The share jumped ten cents to close at £5.97 on a volume worth £8 million. Over 1.3 million shares were traded. Another winner in the IT sector was Logicom, which added 16 cents to close at £4.42. Heavy trading in Tsokkos Hotels stock also continued with 1.26 million shares changing hands, adding nearly one cent to the stock, which ended at 41 cents.
Yesterday’s newcomer to the floor, Andreas Petsas also felt the more benevolent mood of investors. The share debuted at 46 cents; hit an intra day high of 60 cents before closing at 57, making it the most successful IPO this week.
