Tunis Stock Exchange was in full swing despite evident controversies on half-yearly releases. Indexes were sent higher as BVMT the benchmark index soared 6.25 percent to overcome the official weighted TUNINDEX on Thursday. The SMART composite Index ended 1.61 percent higher amid more than 5 percent weekly return in both industrials and services sectors. The market slightly stepped back during the last session.
SFBT put on 5.74 percent despite lower-than-expected first half figures. Retail investors are betting its share price would soon hit the TND 200 mark anyhow, which set off firm buying waves for this week too. At Friday's closing, SFBT shares ended high at TND 178.7 slightly below its Thursday's record high of TND 181.2. The number of shares dealt amounted to 28,900 amassing nearly TND 5.1 million.
Enthusiasm for SOTETEL shares is not about to stop. The telecom engineering company, which disclosed 18 percent increase in half-year net income, has seen its stock price accelerating its pace by 15.6 percent. The mobile phone extension works and capital rebalance will be a turning point for the coming months. As the main engines of growth in the second half, they have consistently driven share prices higher.
BATAM, that agreed to tie up with foreign PROFURN, quoted last Friday at a new year high of TND 22.8 amid several breaks on limits up leading to a 14 percent jump over the week showing then lots of consistency in this fortnight.
SOTUMAG, which stepped a second IPO, was set higher as technical manipulation led prices 10 percent ahead from TND 21.8 a week earlier. Among the hardly hit shares, SIAME, 1999's superstar, tumbled by more than 4.7 percent. SIAME harshly sanctioned failed to convince investors on its real fundamentals even though company is well regarded given its peculiar communications sense. As a result, SIAME prices receded by 13.6 percent in four week sessions when they proved to be oversold.
Financials seem to lose ground again. While leasing dropped out from the top movers list that suggest the sector is in slack period coupled with H1 flat earnings, banks were expressing a lame duck face pulling partly down the sector by further 0.95 percent.
Only BNDT has traded sharply higher after it published earnings last week, which has resumed optimistic mood towards the stock. Friday, it added 5.45 percent to close at TND 5.8 whereas UBCI, out of steam, slipped back to a one month-low of TND 40,300 falling 5.18 percent. Most stocks still out of market way whereas SFBT and SOTETEL remained strong movers. On the other hand, BIAT and BATAM gave the impression to revive parsimoniously. Overall transactions were quite ordinary standing at TND 15.7 million slightly down from last week volume. However, scrums over SOTETEL lifted impressively the intensity as the old shares attracted the investors' appetite. Total investments amounted to more than TND 4.7 million, therefore drowning the both lines of SOTETEL shares at beyond TND 200 price. The bourse second leg SFBT also drove on worth TND 5 million over weekly wider built positions. A second traded bloc in BIAT boosted turnover again with 25,000 shares on Thursday. — ( TUSTEX)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
