TSE Gauge Ends 2017 by Topping 20%

Tehran Stock Exchange did well in 2017, posting growth on the back of a plethora of factors such as recovering macroeconomic indices, rising global commodity prices and a devaluing currency that boosted exports.

It wasn’t just Iran, though, as stocks all over the world were on the rise last year. Of the 70 markets in the world, 61 of them ended the year posting gains.

TSE’s benchmark index, TEDPIX, ended 2017 at 95,561.5, recording a 20.22% growth for the year. This makes TSE the world’s 22nd fastest growing equity market for the year, according to Donya-e-Eqtesad.

Argentina’s Merval stock index had the world’s highest growth with more than 77%, followed by Vietnam’s benchmark VN index with 55%, Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul with 47% and Nigeria’s NGSEINDEX with 46%.

TSE witnessed the trading of 231.79 billion securities valued at 509.38 trillion rials ($12.12 billion) last year.

TEDPIX followed a seesaw pattern in H1, as it kept mostly in the 76,000-78,000 range until its sudden rise above 80,000 in late May. Stocks sank again to the 78,000 level next month, only to resume growth in July and continue an accelerating upward trend by December.

The rocketing growth started losing momentum as it began dropping from an all-time high of 95,358.4 on December 26. The index lost 2,796 points in the next three days. It only resumed growth on the first day of 2018.

Base metals and refineries were the year's top industries, as they grew by 75% and 62% to end the year at 57,435.9 and 345,841 respectively. Both industries’ indices were on a relatively undisturbed path of growth, with oil products experiencing more hiccups along the way.

What buoyed most markets in 2017 was arguably the global rising commodity prices. Central banks, for their part, ensured easy liquidity through the year. While the oil market got bigger with non-OPEC countries led by Russia joining in, China’s crusade against polluting industries sent the prices of several commodities to multi-year highs, Bloomberg reported.

"The key driver for the oil market this year was production cuts introduced, complied with and extended by OPEC and Russia," said Ric Spooner, a Sydney-based analyst at CMC Markets.

2017 was also the worst year for the US dollar in more than a decade, with the falling currency helping all commodities appreciate.

This is while the Iranian rial kept weakening against the greenback, a total of 9% during the year, to boost the fortunes of base metal producers and petrochemical plants.

The past year saw several commodities hit multi-year highs after bottoming out to a five-year downturn the year before.

Zinc scaled the highest level in a decade due to supply constraints. Lead followed with a six-year high, aluminum had the best year in five, copper hit a three-year record and nickel also hit a two-year high.