By the end of January 2024, the total equity turnover on ZSE further grew by 7% MoM, and a much as 78% YoY. At the same time, the main index on the exchange, CROBEX, increased by 5.2% MoM and amounted to 2,665,94 points.

During January 2024, the equity turnover on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, ZSE, picked up pace significantly, both on an MoM and YoY basis. As such, during the month, the total equity turnover amounted to EUR 29.7m, further increasing by 7% MoM, and noting a strong 78% YoY growth. Furthermore, equity block turnover amounted to EUR 2.4m. Excluding the block trades, the total equity turnover during January amounted to EUR 27.3m. As such, the average daily turnover also picked up, amounting to EUR 1.3m during January.

Monthly equity turnover on ZSE (January 2022 – January 2023)

Source: ZSE, InterCapital Research

In terms of the most traded stocks, Ericsson NT leads the way at EUR 3.2m, or 10.9% of the total equity turnover. Following Ericsson NT, there is Podravka ad HPB, both at EUR 3m, or 9.9% of total equity turnover. ZABA is to follow at EUR 2.7m, or 9.1%, Atlantska Plovidba, at EUR 2.4m, or 8%, and Span at EUR 2.3m, or 7.7% of total turnover on ZSE. Together, the top 5 most traded stocks made up 47.9% of the total equity turnover during January, while the top 10 most traded stocks made up 77.6%. This is in sharp contrast to the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, where trading is concentrated to a high degree in the first 5, and especially the first 10 most traded stocks. Of course, given the difference in the number of listed companies on ZSE/LJSE, this is to be expected.

Turning our attention to the performance of the Croatian blue chips, during January, the largest increase was recorded by ZABA with an increase of as much as 15.3% MoM, closely followed by both Končar’s subsidiary, Končar D&ST (pref.) and Končar Group with 15.1% and 12.3% MoM growth, respectively. Following them there is Ericsson NT, at 5.5%, Arena Hospitality Group and Adris (pref.) both at 4.6%, Podravka at 4% and HT at 2.2%. On the other hand, AD Plastik recorded a decline of 2.2%, while Atlantic Grupa  noted a decrease of 0.9%. Finally, HPB and Span remained flat during January. Overall, CROBEX noted a strong increase of 5.2% during months.

Performance of select Croatian companies (January 2024, MoM, %)

Source: Bloomberg, InterCapital Research