Tehran Stocks Rise Despite New Year Slump

EghtesadOnline: Tehran Stock Exchange ended the very first trading week of the new fiscal year (March 2018-19) with solid gains and minimal trade volume, as investors returned from the extended holidays.

News ID: ۷۸۲۲۰۳

08 April 2018

Traders traditionally refrain from selling in the early days of the year and this four-day trading week (markets were closed on Saturday) was no different. Trading volume stayed even lower than last year’s lethargic closing days. Upticks in key large-cap shares, however, buoyed the main index.

TEDPIX gained 649 points or 0.7% during the week that ended on March 28 to close at 96,938.9. The index had dropped about 1.4% during the previous trading week.

The TSE benchmark is currently at its 23-day high owing mostly to last week’s gains. It is far from its all-time high of 99,522 reached on Jan. 24 though, according to Financial Tribune.

Iran Fara Bourse’s benchmark index IFX added 9.9 points or 0.9% last week to stand at 1,106.5. IFX is currently at an all-time high.

> Tejarat Bank Returns to Trading

Tejarat Bank’s frozen stock ticker reopened at TSE on Monday after an eight-month hiatus to follow in the footsteps of Saderat and Parsian, two banks that returned to trading during last year’s dying days.

Unlike the duo, Tejarat did not weigh down on the index. In an interesting twist, “BTEJ” shares grew 5% during the day. It was received favorably in the following two days as well.

Tejarat was barred from trading on July 2017 for delaying the release of its financial details, after coming out of a freeze a few months before that.

Bank Saderat and Parsian returned to trading on March 14. The former wiped half of its investors’ capital when it reopened its stock ticker and the latter saw a 10.24% drop in its share value. They accounted for nearly all of TEDPIX’s retreat for the day.

All three have something in common, however, and that is significantly high retained loss forecasts.

For Tejarat, it reaches 61.08 trillion rials ($1.22 billion) for last fiscal year, up 399% compared to the bank’s forecast made earlier this year.

Saderat and Parsian’s forecasted retained losses also stand at 45.56 trillion rials ($949.34 million) and 471.32 billion rials ($9.81 million) respectively.

> Gold Coin Hits All-Time High, Rial Near New Lows

Foreign exchange and gold rates have truly started the fiscal year with a bang. Rial is close to recording new lows against the US dollar and euro, while Bahar Azadi gold coin is at the highest ever.

Euro came on top in terms of last week’s gains, followed by Bahar Azadi gold coin, the US dollar, IFX and TEDPIX.

The rial was quoted at 61,700 against euro by Thursday’s close, according to Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union. It marked a 5.72% rise for the European currency for the week. A slight nudge can throw rial beyond the low of 61,820 recorded on Feb. 5.

Rial also lost 2.98% against the US dollar last week to 50,290. Here, too, rial only needs to go 740 lower to cross the 51,030 low registered on March 26.

As for gold, Bahar Azadi gold coin gained 4.51% last week to 16.44 million rials. This is the gold coin’s all-time high by a long shot.

> Weekly Trade in Detail

Over 2.56 billion shares valued at $107.6 million were traded on TSE last week. The number of traded shares and trade value dropped by 87% and 84.4% compared to the week before last.

TSE’s First Market Index gained 434 points or 0.63% to end at 68,558.2. The Second Market Index also grew by 3,018 points or 1.41% to close at 217,548.

And at IFB, over 557 million securities valued at $115.6 million were traded, with the number of traded shares and trade value dropping by 91% compared to the previous week.

IFB’s market cap gained $239 million or 0.81% to reach $29.64 billion.

Its First Market witnessed the trading of 52 million securities valued at $2.84 million, indicating a 48% and 32% drop in the number of traded securities and trade value respectively.

About 255 million securities valued at $11.52 million were traded in the Second Market, with the number of traded securities and trade value dropping by 96% and 89% respectively week-on-week.

Over 5 million debt securities valued at $90.5 million were also traded at IFB, dropping by 92% in the number of bonds traded and their value respectively.

Exchange-traded funds also dropped 67% in trade number and 68% in value to reach 11 million worth $3.34 million.

Housing mortgage rights’ trade was up, as it reached 9,000 securities worth $1.1 million, marking a rise of 15% and 9% respectively.