Profit taking brings market back to earth

By Hamza Hendawi

A BOUT OF profit-taking left share prices lower yesterday, a day after they soared by nearly 10 per cent.

The all-share index was down 11.58 points, or 1.6 per cent, to close at 770.64 on a decent volume of £39.36 million.

Brokers had predicted profit taking in view of Wednesday’s big jump in prices and yesterday they spoke of an expected steady run until the end of the year.

Only two of the market’s seven sectors — investment and insurance companies — ended the day in positive territory yesterday. The trading index was the biggest loser, its sub-index shedding 5.06 per cent. All three — Woolworth, CTC and Orphanides — in the sector finished lower, shedding £0.19, £0.24 and £0.36 respectively on a combined volume of nearly £4 million.

The banks surrendered some of the big gains made on Wednesday, with their sub-index down by 2.35 per cent. The Bank of Cyprus, which rose by more than £1 on Wednesday, was down to £11.34. Popular Bank closed at £14.35, down by £0.65, while Hellenic Bank was only marginally off Wednesday’s close at £5.18.

Athienitis & Severis, which made its debut on Tuesday, closed £1.39 up at £23.4, an appreciation of more than 1,000 per cent in three days of trading.

The share has a nominal value of £0.50, but sold to investors at £2 as part of its private placement and a tiny IPO of about 200,000 shares.

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.