Baltic index turnover was down, at 9.1 million euros, compared with 13.4 million euros for the previous week. Estonian shares accounted for 83 percent of this turnover, mainly with Hansapank shares, while Lithuania provided 17 percent, and Latvian stocks contributed next to nil. Baltic List stocks held a dominating position only on the Estonian market covering almost 100 percent of the turnover. In Lithuania the figure was 55 percent, while Latvia saw 20 percent of local bourse trading covered by Baltic List stocks.
October 1 saw the Baltic List drop its listing of Estonia's real estate Pro Kapital Group shares. Pro Kapital has been kicked off the list of the most liquid Baltic companies after the Tallinn Stock Exchange de-listed the stock as of Sept. 29. The company has been de-listed because it has on numerous occasions, failed to publish required information, has only partially or not at all announced important information and has published incorrect and false news. It has also been discovered that persons related to the company have repeatedly violated regulations on transactions with the issued shares. Thus the Baltic List will now include only 14 Baltic company stocks.
The Baltic index is a price index for blue chip stocks from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania included on the Baltic List. It indicates the change in prices for stocks listed on the Baltic List; decisions on changes to the list are made on a quarterly basis.
Estonia: Recovery prevail on Tallinn bourse
An optimistic mood, with support spreading from European stock markets, prevailed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange in the outgoing week, with Telekom showing the biggest rise. During the week, the TALSE stock index climbed 10.8 percent to 122.72. Calculated in euros, the price index of the six Estonian Baltic List stocks gained 6.1 percent to 114.80 points.
The total weekly turnover of 119 million kroons ($6.98 million) was 35 percent more than the week before. "If the previous week was utterly negative both on the world market and here, then the last week was positive, with movement in pace with European markets," Hansabank Markets broker Romet Tepper said. "They were two totally different weeks," he added.
Shares in Eesti Telekom made an effective rise, gaining 21.8 percent and ending at 55.75 kroons on total trade of nearly 18 million kroons. "The 22 percent rise in Eesti Telekom stock is comparable with the rise in other telecoms. Selling pressure has disappeared in the entire sector," Tepper said. "In the West, the economic indexes are quite negative, but we have had no reason for panicky sales so far, rather, buying opportunities could be considered," the broker said.
Shares in Hansapank climbed 6.8 percent to 140 kroons on a turnover of 88.4 million kroons, three-quarters of the week's total market turnover. At the same time, Tepper observed that the banking sector index moved up 21 percent in Europe, compared with Hansapank's 7 percent jump. The broker believes that some parties interested in selling could appear, people who had speculated on a merger between Swedbank and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. "But there is no substantial selling pressure on Hansapank stock in sight," he said. Tepper said that no fast rise is to be expected next week, as the political insecurity factor is still there. "We will remain at the same levels, or move slightly up," he forecasted.
Latvia: Trading levels down to a trickle
Last week saw trade on the Latvian stock market slow to almost nothing, with most stocks trading lower. The Dow Jones Riga Stock Exchange capitalization index fell 6.2 percent to 153.31, while the RICI price index fell by 3.3 percent to 145.43, closing in on a three year record low. The Latvian Baltic List index fell 5.6 percent to 163.42.
The weekly turnover on the Riga bourse amounted to only 107,434 lats ($173,001). Around half of this was produced through external deals with shares in the confectionery Staburadze, trading of which has been suspended on the Riga bourse.
Specialists report that there is next to no interest in the until recently popular Latvijas Gaze or oil terminal Ventspils Nafta shares, both falling steadily. Latvijas Gaze fell 9.6 percent to 4.70 lats on a small turnover of 13,525 lats. The struggle amongst shareholders is over, leading to interest slowly dying out in the gas company's shares. The share value is also expected to head lower, as today's price is still higher than analysts' estimated share value. The selling of a loss producing resort sanatorium owned by Latvijas Gaze last week will probably do little good in saving the company's shares either, while the only saviour might be if the company wins an arbitrary court proceeding against the Latvian state for rights to raise gas rates to industrial customers. Nevertheless, virtually no one can predict which way the case may go.
Ventspils Nafta shares remained unchanged for the week at 0.72 lats each, with a low turnover of 8,560 lats.
With the nearing of the opening of Russia's new Primorsk terminal in the Leningrad region, north of St. Petersburg, interest is starting to drift from the Latvian oil terminal, as Primorsk is set to become Ventspils' main rival on the Baltic Sea. The global oil market situation also gives little optimism for potential investors.
Rigas KB shipyard announced that on October 8 it would be setting dividends of 0.02 lats per share. Investors immediately began accumulating shares, driving the price higher by 5.9 percent to 0.18 lats. Unfortunately, the dividends expected for Rigas KB shipyard are just about the only positive and promising event expected for Latvian stocks in early October. Corporate earnings results are expected only by late October, and these are not likely to produce any positive surprises. Market specialists thus believe that not much change is expected on the Latvian stock market in the near future.
Lithuania: Telecom, gas in focus
Trade picked up on the National Stock Exchange of Lithuania last week, mainly due to increased investor interest in the shares of blue chip Lietuvos Telekomas, the gas firm Lietuvos Dujos and refrigerator producer Snaige. The bourse's benchmark price index Litin-10 edged up 1.5 percent to 1,003.10; the blue chip official list index Litin rose 6.7 percent to 293.21 and the broad index Litin-G advanced 4.4 percent to 790.72. Calculated in euros, the price index of the six Lithuanian Baltic List shares gained 3.7 percent to 116.21. The week's equity trading turnover reached 10.11 million litas ($2.53 million).
Listed on the current list, Lietuvos Dujos led trade in the outgoing week. Its stock climbed 1.8 percent to 1.65 litas amid a turnover of 542,900 litas. Brokers said investor interest was undoubtedly fueled by the possibility that the government might sell 9 percent of Lietuvos Dujos shares through the stock exchange. It is expected that both a Western strategic investor and a Russian gas supplier will try to buy the shares with a view to gaining more influence in the gas company. The government, however, failed to take a final decision on Lietuvos Dujos' privatization scheme.
Listed on the official list, Lietuvos Telekomas soared 8.9 percent to 1.22 litas, its highest level over the past few weeks, in trade worth 512,000 litas. Another 419,600 litas' worth of shares in the telecommunications company changed hands through a single block deal. "There is not much interest on the sell side, and the buyers do not rush to raise the share price. But the buyers outnumber the sellers and telecom shares are slowly moving upwards," said Arvydas Jacikevicius, broker from the financial brokerage Suprema.
Snaige, also listed on the official list, closed flat at 38 litas on a turnover of 373,200 litas. In block trading, as much as 4.18 million litas' worth of shares in Snaige changed hands. In all the block deals, the buyer paid 41 litas. Finasta broker Aurelijus Rimkus attributed the increased activity and gains to the block trades, which might be related to the news that Snavesta, a subsidiary of the fund management firm Hermis Fondu Valdymas, acquired 21.13 percent of the shares in the refrigerator producer, raising its total shareholding to 35 percent.
On the current list, the ferry operator Lisco Baltic Service surged ahead 10.5 percent to 0.21 litas with 71,400 litas' worth of shares traded, and the shipping company Lietuvos Juru Laivininkyste rocketed up 20 percent to 0.12 litas amid a turnover of 63,800 litas. Also in block trading, 2.27 million litas' worth of shares in nitric fertilizer producer Lifosa, 501,000 litas' worth of shares in Siauliu Bank and 86,000 litas' worth of shares in insurer Lietuvos Draudimas changed hands.
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