Baltic bourses decline slower than world markets

Although most Baltic stock market indexes fell over the past week, their performance was not too bad compared to the negative trend on global markets.

Over the past week the 14 blue chip Baltic List stock index gained 0.13 percent to 156.49 points.

Six Baltic List stocks fell in euro-prices, while five posted gains and three remained unchanged.

The fairly significant fall in value by Eesti Telekom and Ventspils Nafta oil terminal was compensated by gains posted for Lietuvos Telekomas with the Baltic List capitalization in euros remaining almost unchanged at 2.65 billion euros.

The large interest in cheaper Hansapank shares caused the weekly turnover to almost double, reaching 4.2 million euros.

Some 94 percent of the Baltic List turnover came from Estonian stocks.

Tallinn's TALSE index ended the week 0.79 percent down at 161.06 points. Also the price index of Estonian Baltic List shares fell by 0.97 percent to 139.22 points.

The bourse's total trade turnover was 66.3 million kroons (4.24 million euros). Of this, 79 percent was generated from deals with Hansapank stocks.

Of the blue chips, Eesti Telekom ended down 1.59 percent at 67.75 kroons on a turnover of 5.42 million kroons.

Shares in Hansapank failed to recover from their fall last week and ended 0.17 percent down at 184.32 kroons on trade of 52.6 million kroons.

Most blue chip stocks on the Riga bourse continued falling with the Dow Jones Riga Stock Exchange capitalization index down 1.13 percent to 171.67 points, and the RICI price index fell 0.11 percent to 217.32 points.

The Latvian euro-priced Baltic List index fell 1.01 percent over the week to 189.64 points.

Stock turnover on the bourse was only 135,000 lats (224,000 euros).

With a low weekly turnover of 1,427 lats, Ventspils Nafta oil terminal shares fell 4.6 percent to 0.62 lats during the week. The company's poor financial results this year so far remain the main reason for the decline in share value.

Meanwhile, competitors on the Baltic Sea keep doing better, with the Muuga port in Estonia announcing the loading of two super-tankers.

For Latvijas Gaze shares, a stable offer by small shareholders of the gas utility kept the price down 1.14 percent with a turnover of 66,000 lats.

Latvijas Krajbanka savings bank shareholders believe that the Latvijas Gaze's share price could continue falling with the supply still exceeding demand.

The newly appointed board of the Latvian Shipping Company has yet to affect the stock price, which remained unchanged at 0.33 lats a -piece on a turnover of 19,314 lats.

Latvijas Balzams distillery and Grindex pharmaceuticals posted active trade with Grindex rising 1.75 percent on a turnover of 15,000 lats.

Most stocks on the Lithuanian bourse generated low turnovers. Even market heavyweight Lietuvos Telekomas, which released first- half operating results just before the weekend, failed to liven up the market. Its lower-than-expected results did not have a marked impact on either its share price or trading volumes.

The bourse's benchmark price index Litin-10 edged up 0.56 percent to 1223.63 points, the blue chip index Litin closed 2.05 percent higher at 306.65 points, while the broad index Litin-G went up 1.12 percent to 924.88 points.

The price index of Lithuanian Baltic List shares went up 1.71 percent to 154.3 points, a record high.

The week's equities turnover reached just 1.3 million litas (370,000 euros).

Telekomas climbed 2.80 percent to 1.10 litas on a turnover of 260,300 litas. This was the price of Telekomas' shares on July 31, prior to the release of its first-half operating results. Analysts say this shows that the results have already been reckoned in the share price.

Telekomas announced an unaudited net profit of 38.53 million litas for the first half of this year, a drop of 37.4 percent year-on-year.

"Investors have got accustomed to poor results by Telekomas," said Arvydas Jacikevicius from the financial brokerage company Suprema. The company's share price will depend on the same factors - exchange rate of the litas against the U.S. dollar and the situation on the global telecommunication market, he added.

Refrigerator producer Snaige climbed 3.17 percent to 65 litas, its new record high, on a turnover of 77,300 litas.

Electronics firm Vilniaus Vingis held steady at 5.90 litas in trade worth 51,000 litas; dairy producer Rokiskio Suris stayed stable at 27 litas' with 50,600 litas worth of shares traded. TV-tube manufacturer Ekranas closed flat at 5.71 litas amid a turnover of 27,600 litas.

On the Current List, marine transport company Klaipedos Transporto Laivynas (KTL) was flat at 0.38 litas in trade worth 114,700 litas. Another 132,600 litas' worth of shares in KTL changed hands via block deals.

Shipping company Lisco Baltic Service remained unchanged at 0.38 litas with 72,200 litas' worth of shares traded. Oil company Mazeikiu Nafta slid 2.86 percent to 0.68 litas amid a turnover of 57,000 litas.