SLOVENIA
5G and nuclear energy in centre of Pompeo's visit to Slovenia
5G networks and energy investments were at the centre of talks as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Slovenia on Thursday. The countries signed a joint 5G security declaration, with Pompeo saying that the tide was turning against the Chinese Communist Party, which is trying to control people and other economies. (STA)
Huawei surprised by US-Slovenia 5G declaration
Chinese tech company Huawei said on Friday it was surprised by the joint declaration on security of 5G networks which Slovenia has signed with the US, stressing that any kind of discrimination and restrictions to the free market always have a negative impact. (STA)
NLB Group net profit down 22% to EUR 73.7m in H1
The NLB Group generated EUR 73.7 million in net profit in the first half of the year, a decrease of EUR 20.7 million or 22% year-on-year. The group's operations were affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, but the supervisory board said on Thursday that despite impairments and provisions the group's operations were stable and profitable. (STA)
Construction down 5.6% in H1 y/y
The value of construction work completed in the first six months of 2020 was 5.6% lower than in the same period last year, show data released by the Statistics Office on Friday. In June it decreased by 7.1% on the monthly level and by 15.3% year-on-year. (STA)
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
S&P 500 closes lower as run to record high falls short again; European markets close lower despite positive U.S. jobless claims data; Thyssenkrupp down 16.3%; BELEX15 down 0.67%; NBS keeps key policy rate unchanged
The S&P 500 closed lower on Thursday after flirting with its record high from February as traders digested better-than-expected unemployment data and monitored the stalemate in stimulus negotiations. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 3,373.43. It briefly crossed its record closing high of 3,386.15 earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 80.12 points, or 0.3% at 27,896.72. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.3% to 11,042.50.
Initial U.S. weekly jobless claims fell to 963,000, the Labor Department said. That’s below a Dow Jones estimate of 1.1 million. It was also the first time since March that jobless claims came in below 1 million.
European stocks finished Thursday’s session in negative territory as investors digested the latest U.S. jobless claims data and tracked the lack of progress in negotiations over a U.S. pandemic relief package.
The Europe Stoxx 600 closed 0.63% lower, with banks shedding 1.91% to lead losses while retail bucked the trend to add 0.24%.
Thyssenkrupp was the worst performers on the European blue chip index, closing 16.3% lower after the German steel company posted a 679 million euro ($800 million) quarterly loss. The company said it’s seeing signs of stabilization, however, following the easing of lockdown restrictions and the sale last month of its elevator unit.
Shares of Carlsberg were down 5.79% after the Danish brewer said it expected profit to fall 10%-15% in 2020 due to lockdowns in Europe and China impacting sales, Reuters reported.
Insolvent payments company Wirecard will finally be ejected from Germany’s benchmark DAX index on August 21, after exchange operator Deutsche Boerse announced a change in its selection rules on Thursday.
BELEX15 was down 0.67% as Belgrade Airport lost 3.9%, while Energorphket was down 2.5%. The most active was Energoprojekt with solid RSD 49.8m in volume, while this was executed in a single transaction. The company
At its meeting yesterday, the NBS Executive Board decided to keep the key policy rate unchanged, at 1.25%. The decision was made primarily in light of the achieved and expected effects of monetary policy measures taken to mitigate the fallout from the pandemic and to bolster economic growth. Dinar interest rates declined as a result of monetary policy easing, notably as a result of reducing the key policy rate by a whole percentage point relative to the pre-pandemic period. (CNBC, ILIRIKA)
