The total turnover on all market segments of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) in March 2005 (excluding block trading) amounted to SIT 14.4 billion. The turnover in March was therefore 13.6% lower than last year's average. In comparison to March 2004, the total turnover decreased by SIT 4.9 billion (-25.5%).
In March 2005, shares of joint-stock companies amounted to 65.0% of overall LJSE turnover. Bonds came second with a 19.3% share, with investment funds shares coming third, with 15.7% of total turnover. In the last month, bonds gained 8.5 percentage points in the total turnover structure. At the same time, shares of joint-stock companies lost roughly the same percentage.
During the 22 trading days in March, a total amount of 26,489 transactions were concluded. On average, this amounts to 1,204 transactions per day, or rather 12.7% less than the average for last year. The average daily turnover in March amounted to SIT 654.6 million, which is 16.6% less than last year's average.
Block trading
LJSE members reported 92 block transactions, a total value of SIT 15.6 billion, in March 2005. The total monthly turnover of registered block trades thus exceeded the BTS system turnover by SIT 1.2 billion. The average value of a single block transaction in March was SIT 169.1 million, while the average value of a single transaction without the block trades amounted to SIT 543.7 thousand.
Indices
The SBI 20, the official market index, lost 2.9% in March. The index ran up the entire loss in the first half of the month. It reached its lowest point on March 23 at 4,764 points. It then recorded five consecutive days of growth and ended the month at 4,858 points. In the last twelve months, the SBI 20 grew 11.0% and thus qualified as the most profitable index on the LJSE during this period.
The IPT Index (Free Market Index) fell by 3.9% in March. The IPT lost most of its value in a similar fashion as the SBI 20, namely in the first half of the trading month. The correlation coefficient among the two indices equalled 0.59 in the last month. In the last twelve months, the index grew by 8.8%.
The Investment Funds Index - PIX lost 3.8% in the third month of 2005. The index did actually finish the largest number of trading days (nine) on a positive note out of all the indices on the LJSE. Even though, its loss was 0.8 percentage points higher than that of the SBI 20. In the last twelve months, the index grew by 10.3%.
In March, the Bond Index (BIO) grew by 0.1%. In the last 12 months, the index grew by 4.1%. In March, all four LJSE industrial sector indices decreased in value for the second time in a row. Chemicals (-4.3%) registered the biggest loss, followed by Transport (-3.2%) and Food & Beverages (-3.1%). The Trade index was the best performer, losing only 0.8 %.
Price movements of selected shares
On the official market of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange prices of four shares increased out of a total number of 28. Among the shares included in the SBI 20 index, shares of Kompas MTS saw the biggest growth, increasing in value by 6.6%. Other risers included Merkur (+2.8%) and Aerodrom (less than a tenth of a percentage point). On the other hand, the biggest loss in March was recorded with shares of Istrabenz (-7.0%), Intereuropa (-6.3%) and Krka (-5.4%).
The annual comparison period shows, that in the last twelve months, the prices of fifteen shares on the official market increased during that period. Among the shares included in the SBI 20 index, the shares of the following companies recorded the biggest growth in the stated period: Sava (+56.7%), Merkur (+49.2%) and Aerodrom (+40.4%). Thirteen shares decreased in value. Among the SBI 20 shares, Istrabenz ( a loss of 13.7%), Droga (-6.2%) and Gorenje (-4.4%) were the biggest losers.
Foreign investments
The net outflow of all non-residents' investments to the organised market in March 2005 totalled SIT 120.2 million. In March of last year, foreign investments inflow amounted to SIT 419.8 million. In March, foreign investors participated with 6.6% in the turnover structure of the organised market. The level of foreign ownership in shares of Slovene companies (according to the market capitalisation as at the last day of the month) reached 4.1% as at the end of March. Among the shares included in the SBI 20 index, the share of foreign investors' ownership increased most notably in Kompas MTS (+4.7 percentage points) and Pivovarna La{ko (+2.2 percentage points). On the other hand, the share of foreign investors' ownership decreased most notably in Istrabenz (-18.9 percentage point) and Merkur (-14.3 percentage point).
Market capitalization
On March 31 2005, the total market capitalization of all securities traded on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange amounted to SIT 3,067 billion. The highest participation in the market capitalisation was recorded by the shares of joint-stock companies (55.9%), followed by bonds (36.3%) and investment funds (7.8%). In the past month, the Stock Exchange market capitalisation decreased by SIT 49.6 billion. The decrease is a result of a fall in joint-stock companies and investment funds values. The market capitalization of joint-stock companies' shares prices decreased by SIT 58.8 billion in the last month, while the investment funds share decreased by SIT 9.0 billion. The market capitalisation of bonds increased by SIT 18.1 billion in the same period due to admission of new bonds to the market.
Year-on-year, the market capitalisation of shares on the official market increased from SIT 1,101.0 billion to SIT 1,199.5 billion (9.0%). In the same period, the market capitalisation of shares on the free market grew by 10.3%, from SIT 429.1 billion to SIT st 473.1 billion. On March 31 , the market capitalisation of all shares on the LJSE, excluding investment funds, represented 27.0% of the GDP in 2004 (at current prices). Source: The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.
