Extraordinary market volatility led to another troublesome day for equity causing temporary trade suspension in Croatia.

At 09:43 am, CROBEX and CROBEX10 index declined 10.18% and 10.31% respectively compared to the previous day. Consequently, Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency at 09:45 am temporarily suspended trading on the ZSE until the end of the trading day. ZSE rules and Capital Market Act state that regulator may close ZSE in the case of extreme market volatility in order to protect investors.

Note that the index observed such a sharp daily decrease only once in October of 2008 when CROBEX dropped by 10.2%. Closing at 1,429.47 points, CROBEX reached the same level as in 2009 when the global financial crisis heavily hit Croatia’s equity market. YTD CROBEX recorded a decrease of 29.1%, while the index’s P/E multiple fell by 10.2% since yesterday.

During this brief trading session, the ZSE reported a turnover of HRK 8.6m, which is quite close to an average daily turnover. At the same time, 40 stocks ended in the red. The most traded shares were Valamar (RIVP) and Hrvatski Telekom (HT), with each recording a turnover of approximately HRK 1.4m. The most significant decline in the share price were evidenced by Arena Hospitality Group (ARNT), Optima Telekom (OPTE), and Valamar Riviera (RIVP) with a double-digit decline of 20.61%, 17.43%, and 14.17% respectively.

Meanwhile, uncertainty about the duration and severity of novel coronavirus spread caused a further decrease in other regional stock markets as well – SBITOP fell 8.96% and BET declined by 5.15%.