Market bounces back to regain losses

FOLLOWING global trends, the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed a stunning comeback yesterday, regaining almost all losses incurred since ‘Black Monday’.

The general index closed 8.59 per cent up after dropping 8.4 per cent on Monday, 0.5 per cent on Tuesday and 2.3 per cent on Wednesday.

However, as Asian and European markets picked up following a turnaround in the US on Wednesday in the wake of a Fed interest rate cut, the CSE also bounced back yesterday.

As in the past week, the market was driven by banking stock, which again accounted for the bulk of the €13.2 million in volume, with investors buying hundreds of thousands of shares in the three main banks. By comparison, very few were offloaded.

The sector recorded the highest gains of the day, jumping over nine per cent.

Bank of Cyprus gained €0.86 to close at €10.82, Marfin Popular rose €0.60 to €6.76 and Hellenic Bank €0.28 to €3.64. In all, 47 stocks gained yesterday, while 15 showed losses. Trading began some 150 points above Wednesday’s close and continued in an upwards trend throughout the day with no sign of the jitters that have plagued the index all week.

The dramatic falls on global markets over the past week were fuelled by fears that the US was on the brink of recession.

Economists predict that the situation could remain uncertain for the next six months and say market volatility will be rampant for some time until it emerges how deep the US crisis may go.

The European Central Bank refused to follow the Fed lead on interest rates, saying it preferred to focus on inflation and growth rates within the eurozone rather than on the financial markets.

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.