Banking rumours drive up share index

THE EQUITY market rose 1.22 per cent yesterday,  lifted by a buoyant performance in the banking sector, which continued to advance on speculative buys.

The all-share index climbed 6.7 points to a close of 556.89 on a turnover of £37.8 million, slightly higher than Thursday’s 33.7 million.

Heavily capitalised bank shares dominated turnover and led advancers of the day, climbing 2.5 per cent.

Dealers said that the rumour mill continued to churn with Popular Bank and Bank of Cyprus being the flavour of the day.

"There were a lot of buys on the banks. There is a good deal of speculation on the market surrounding the annual meeting of Laiki Bank and rumours that the Bank of Cyprus might have a firm listing date for Athens," said a stockbroker at a leading brokerage.

Laiki, which is holding its annual meeting in two weeks’ time, rose 25 cents to a last trade of £13.90, while Bank of Cyprus climbed 27 cents to a last trade of £8.57.

Bank of Cyprus filed an application for a parallel listing of its ordinary shares on the Athens Stock Exchange last December, while the market has been awash with rumours for weeks that Laiki will be issuing giveaways marking its centenary next
year.

However, traders said they were not sure that Laiki would announce any goodies to investors soon, even though shareholders will be called to approve an additional equity issue of 15 million shares during the annual meeting. And Bank of Cyprus shares have been inflating and deflating for weeks on rumours related to its Athens plans.

"It’s a rumour mill. There is a lot of speculation and some investors have taken a short-term view of the market," the trader said.

There was mixed trading in the other six sectors of the market, with investment, service and commercial stocks drifting lower and insurance and industrial stocks marginally higher. 

Louis Cruise Lines topped volume ranks with 1.9 million shares changing hands, slipping six cents to a last trade of £2.07. Investment firm Aiantas was also active with a £1.13 million turnover.

Globalsoft.com gained nine cents to a close of £6.62 yesterday after profit taking which depressed its price by more than two per cent on Thursday.

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.