PERFORMANCE on the stock exchange was dismal yesterday for the second day running after Christmas, foretelling a less than brilliant outlook for the New Year.
The all-share index closed down 1.09 per cent at 129.92 as the FTSE dipped 0.06 per cent to close at 520.37 with volume hovering at the £9.07 million mark.
The bulk of trading was shared almost evenly between the banks, manufacturing and insurance sectors, while ‘other’ companies topped the list at 32.18 per cent.
But a couple of big company deals meant the real volume was less than half of the total shown on the calculator.
“True turnover is definitely less than half the total, and I think that the investors are staying on the sideline, waiting for good news,” said stockbroker Stavros Agrotis.
“We haven’t had the window dressing we normally get at the end of the year. Companies have taken the view that it’s been a bad year and they’ve lost anyway. No small percentage increase will change the overall feel of the market for shareholders. Everyone’s hoping for a better 2002,” he added.
It’s not clear if 2002 will bring the much-need good tidings for investors.
“It’s a little worrying because during the closed period in January, companies won’t be able to buy from the market to stabilise their shares, so January and February will be negative. It won’t be a surprise to say that we may go back to 115 or lower,” said broker Demos Stavrides.
“That will have an affect, but not on the banks and the more serious companies,” said Agrotis.
Analysts are desperate for 2002 to bring a much-needed trend to the market. Factors likely to provoke that could be progress in the proximity talks on Cyprus, due to resume in January, the implementation of the tax package, Brussells’ final approval of the country’s entry into the European Union at the end of 2002, or the Olympics.
Yesterday’s biggest gainers were Karges Investments, up 14.73 per cent, Triena Investments (up 13.16 per cent), CCC Holdings (12.38 per cent) and Laser Investments (up 11.62 per cent).
The largest losers were Triena Investments Capital, down 12.50 per cent, Europrofit Capital (down 8.92 per cent) and Transoccer Holdings (down 7.75 per cent).
Bank of Cyprus dipped as low as £1.88, but closed at £1.90; Cyprus Popular Bank was up one cent to £1.56 and Hellenic Bank up two cents to 89 cents.
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.
