The stock market was weak today, and although the market's main gauge TEDPIX remained positive for the second day in a row sectors that have been strong of late weren't and the fervor for bank stocks also abated.
The humdrum trading comes as investors still feel no appetite for fundamentally appealing stocks namely commodity and refinery companies.
Equity indices extended declines for the third session on Monday, tracking weakness in commodity stocks and uncertainty regarding the future of export-based companies. Tehran Stock Exchange main index shed 1,600 points on Sunday.
Tehran Stock Exchange's main index TEDPIX gained 141.85 points or 0.09% on Tuesday to end trading at 160,294.9.
More than 1.7 billion shares valued at 4.66 trillion rials ($40.81 million) changed hands at TSE for the day.
Trading at TSE and over-the-counter Iran Fara Bourse starts on Saturday and ends Wednesday.
Pars Ceramic Company was the biggest winner as its shares went up 5 % to 15, 818 rials per share.
Iran Post Bank incurred the biggest loss among all TSE-listed companies and fell 4.77% to 2,135 rials per share.
According to Shahin Cheraghi, a market analyst, sanctions and the oil price fall affected the stock market negatively in the past days.
Another reason for market volatility, he said, is the volume of liquidity which has almost doubled since the previous round of US sanctions.
Increase in the volume of liquidity, he said, is what encourages people to be drawn to parallel markets such as gold and currency. While in the past, fall in the value of the national currency meant increased capital for exporters and a boom for the stock market. The nagging pessimism about the future of companies in light of sanctions is hindering that.
Caption: More than 1.7 billion shares valued at 4.66 trillion rials ($40.81 million) changed hands at TSE on Wednesday.
