Industrial companies suffer massive drops on the stock exchange

Industrial companies quoted on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) registered massive drops in the first three months of the year, due to the effects of the U.S. subprime crisis on international markets.

Steel maker ArcelorMittal Iasi faced the sharpest decline, of 53 percent of the value of its shares, to RON 2.1 by 2:00 p.m. on Monday, from RON 4.5 at the close of the 21 December 2007 session. Energy equipment producer Vulcan Bucuresti, part of the Tender group portfolio, suffered a similar drop, of 46 percent of its capitalization in this period.

“Besides the decline suffered by the entire stock market, each company can specify particular causes which influenced its evolution on the stock exchange in the December 2007-March 2008 period. For instance, the Oltchim quotation fluctuated according to the news that appeared regarding its privatization,” said Iulian Panait, President of KTD Invest.

However, there are some exceptions, companies which succeeded in raising their quotations in the period in question, such as Atlas Gip, supplier of oil and gas drilling services, whose shares increased 0.3 percent.