Stock markets were mostly quiet in the past trading week that ended November 23, as Tehran Stock Exchange’s benchmark index inched 117.2 points or 0.14% to close at 79,385.6. IFX, the over-the-counter Iran Fara Bourse’s main index rose 1.9 points or 0.2% to end at 833.7.
TSE trading begins on Saturday and ends Wednesday. The markets were closed on Sunday.
Stocks are still reeling from huge losses following Donald Trump’s shock election victory as US president on November 8. TEDPIX took a 1.83% dive the day after, ending the November 9 trading 1,459 points lower at 78,418.6 points, while the smaller Iran Fara Bourse’s benchmark IFX fell 2.4% to finish at 819.19 points.
However, the exchanges moved to recoup the bulk of their losses in the following week. The TEDPIX gained 857 points or 1.1% during the trading week that ended November 16 to close at 79,268. The IFX added 12.6 points or 1.5% during the same week to end at 831.8.
The head of the Securities and Exchange Organization says the markets will soon register solid growth. “Global political developments can only have a short-term impact on the markets, as investors focus on fundamentals in the long run,” Shapour Mohammadi said.
Over 3.15 billion shares valued at $185.6 million were traded in TSE during the past week. The number of traded shares and weekly trade value shrank by 41% and 67% respectively compared to the previous week.
The First Market Index rose by 346 points or 0.6% to end at 56,383.2.
The Second Market Index shed 1,246.8 points or 0.73% to close at 168,770.2.
Meanwhile, more than 1.2 billion securities valued at $222.6 million were traded in 70,000 transactions at IFB. The number of traded shares grew by 38% while weekly trade value shrank by 13% compared to the week before.
IFB’s market cap gained $31.1 million or 0.1% to reach $26.77 billion.
IFB’s First Market witnessed the trading of 658 million securities valued at $48.3 million, indicating a 280% rise in the number of traded securities and 406% surge in trade value.
Moreover, some 236 million securities valued at $23.7 million were traded in the Second Market, indicating 37% and 39% drop respectively.
The ‘base metals’ group of IFB-listed industries had the highest weekly rise in share value (24%). ‘Oil products, coke and nuclear fuel’ (8%) and ‘transportation, storage and communications’ (7%) came next.
French Firm to Upgrade Securities Market Software
One of the main highlights of the week for the securities markets was the singing of a memorandum of understanding between the French IT company Atos SE and the Iranian securities market authorities on Tuesday to upgrade trading software of Iranian exchanges. Mohammadi says the software will be updated in six to eight months, Boursepress reported.
The shared trading platform between the Tehran Stock Exchange and Iran Fara Bourse is being updated to its 2015 version after eight years. System breakdowns in peak trading hours are chronic, especially at initial public offerings.
“The new version of the software is bug-free and offers superior speed compared to the previous variant,” said TSE chief executive Hassan Qalibaf-Asl, adding that the 2015 version is also used in Oman’s Muscat Securities Market.
The markets’ trading platform software was last updated in 2008. However, sanctions stopped updates, as the French cut ties with Iran, and problems with the system increased. This time, Atos SE has pledged to support the platform for three years.
Atos SE is a European IT services corporation providing consulting and managed services and systems integration, hi-tech transactional services, unified communications, cloud, big data and cyber security services. The company faced a government review of all of its major contracts, which amounted to more than £500 million, in the United Kingdom in March following serious IT failures.
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