SLOVENIA
Cinkarna Celje sees revenue rise but profit fall in Q1
Cinkarna Celje, the Celje-based chemical company, saw sales revenue rise by 5% year-on-year in the first quarter to EUR 47.8%, exceeding plans by 10% in what was also the result of the absence of Chinese competition. Net profit however decreased by 12% to EUR 6.89 million. (STA)
EBRD projects 5.5% contraction for Slovenia this year
The EBRD has projected for Slovenia's economy to contract by 5.5% this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, before rebounding to a 5% growth in 2021, in what is the least pessimistic outlook for the country among the institutions that have already revised their forecasts in the face of the crisis. (STA)
Pharma wholesaler Salus buys stake in tech start-up Medifit
Salus, a wholesale supplier of medicine and other pharmaceutical products, has acquired a 10% stake in the tech start-up Medifit, which provides solutions for insurers, healthcare providers and patients. Medifit's products have included a platform with information on the services and waiting times in public healthcare. (STA)
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow drops more than 400 points, Nasdaq snaps 6-day winning streak on reopening jitters; European markets close mixed as investors monitor new coronavirus cases and reopening efforts; BELEX15 up 0.95%; Serbian annual inflation in April at 0.6%
Stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, giving back some of their recently strong gains, as investors evaluated the latest attempts to reopen the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 457.21 points lower, or 1.9%, at 23,764.78. The S&P 500 dropped 2.1% to 2,870.12 while the Nasdaq Composite also fell more than 2% to 9,002.55. Tuesday’s decline snapped a six-session winning streak for the Nasdaq.
European stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors became increasingly concerned about a potential second wave of coronavirus cases.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 reversed early losses to finish around 0.3% higher. Major bourses were pointing in different directions, while telecoms stocks added 2.7% and the leisure sector slid 1%.
ProSiebenSat.1 shares jumped more than 13% after U.S. private equity house KKR built on its stake in the German media conglomerate.
At the other end of the European benchmark, Thyssenkrupp shares plunged more than 15% after the German industrial group offered a gloomy outlook for 2020.
Serbian BELEX15 added 0.95% as NIS advanced 1.91%, while Belgrade Airport gained 3.2%. The most traded name was Komercijana with RSD 5m in volume, while its stock price was down 0.58%. From the macro side, according to the latest NBS report, annual inflation in April 2020 was at only 0.6%, which was in line with relevant projections. (CNBC, ILIRIKA)
