THE Cyprus bourse sank to a new year low yesterday, shedding 2.34 per cent as heavyweights led by technology share GlobalSoft were hammered in a wave of selling.
GlobalSoft, the market’s third largest company, lurched to a double limit down and was suspended from trade after losing 27.5 per cent, or 46 cents to hit an all-time low of £1.21.
The stock, among the most volatile on the bourse, was suspended from trade at the company’s request on Tuesday, pending announcements on changes to its share structure.
The company said it planned to do away with some 30 million A and B class shares and introduce ordinary shares instead, modifying an earlier proposal to change the shares into warrants.
A minority of the A and B class share holders are contesting the decision in court.
Traders said a statement from the company in which it claimed a number of shareholders were trying to “blackmail” the firm through legal action only soured the climate when trading resumed in the stock yesterday morning.
“The issue the company is confronted with is not a big one and the reaction from investors was excessive,” said Citi Principal analyst Marios Mavrides.
The broad benchmark index fell 3.96 points to 165.13, a whisper higher than an intrasession year low of 165.08 points. The FTSE/CySE index of 20 top stocks lost 17.72 points, or 2.8 per cent to a new life low of 614.70 points.
GlobalSoft’s information technology shares sub index took an 18.25 per cent plunge while heavyweight banks fell 1.64 per cent.
In addition to a downbeat climate in Greece, a closely watched market, the Cyprus bourse has been under pressure for months by indebted investors trying to cushion the impact of an 18-month slump in prices on the back of a 688 per cent increase in 1999.
“Retail investors are now demoralised,” said Yiannis Tirkides, chief analyst at Laiki Investments.
Declining stocks beat advancers 107 to 45 with 27 unchanged on 179 traded. There were 5,368 deals.
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.
