Tehran stocks ended trading week bearish extending the spate of losses into the third week as sell-side pressure reused to abate and capital outflow continued.
The benchmark of Tehran Stock Exchange, TEDPIX, shed more than 54,000 points and lost close to 3.9% in the week to settle at 1,340,017.
Likewise, the equal-weighted index lost close to 3.9%, indicating that both large and small caps have lost luster.
With the bearish trend and uncertainty looming large, retail traders are taking extra caution. Trade by retail investors stood at 33.07 trillion rials ($114 million) in the week, indicating 21% decline compared to the 42.19 trillion rials ($145m) the week before.
Liquidity continued on the exit route throughout the five sessions last week. Net capital outflow by retail investors reached 16.9 trillion rials ($58m). This indicates that 3.33 trillion rials ($11.4m) in retail money exited the market on average per day -- a whopping 777% higher on the figure in the preceding week.
Stock market data show investors are shifting more to fixed income funds. A total of 2.5 trillion rials in retail investors’ funds poured into mutual funds in the week, up 466% compared to the earlier week.
Iran’s share market has been struggling with a crisis ever since August 2020 after prices made historic gains in a very short period only to plunge deep down.
Market observers say the market is in dire need of liquidity to make a comeback, arguing that the rising interbank rates, large-scale bond sale and mandatory pricing by the government on goods produced by listed companies are posing major risks that continue to threaten share prices.
Caption: The benchmark of Tehran Stock Exchange, TEDPIX, lost close to 3.9% last week.
