SLOVENIA
Average pay up 5.5% in June
The average wage in Slovenia was EUR 1,813 gross in June, an increase of 5.5% on the year before. The average net wage rose at an even faster pace, increasing by 6.1% to EUR 1,175, the Statistics Office said. (STA)
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Stocks close Friday flat, S&P 500 posts slight gain for the week; European markets close lower after new UK quarantine rules; U.S. stimulus stalls; BELEX15 ended Friday almost flat; Energoprojekt reports poor 6M numbers & Jedinstvo scores higher sales and lower net profit
Stocks finished Friday mostly flat as the S&P 500 once again failed to overtake its February record highs. Traders also pored over mixed economic data and looked to Washington for clues on further coronavirus stimulus. The S&P 500 lost less than 0.1% to finish at 3,372.85, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.21% to end the day at 11,019.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34.3 points, or 0.12%, and finished at 27,931.02.
Retail sales for July rose 1.2%, the Commerce Department said. That’s below a Dow Jones estimate of 2.3%. Excluding autos, however, retail sales rose 1.9% to top a forecast of 1.2%.
European markets closed lower on Friday as investors monitored concerns over a second wave of coronavirus cases, which caused the U.K. to implement new quarantine measures. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down 1.2%, with travel and leisure stocks dropping more than 2.3% on the back of new travel restrictions as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.
European Union statistics agency Eurostat on Friday confirmed that the euro zone saw a 12.1% contraction in GDP (gross domestic product) in the second quarter, and experienced its worst fall in employment ever recorded. The bloc’s trade surplus surged to 21.2 billion euros ($25 billion) due to a sharp fall in imports.
Serbian BELEX15 was down only light 0.1% as 0.9% gain at NIS was neutralized by 1.2% loss at Komercijana Banka. The bank was the most active name as well, since it generated RSD 12m in volume, which was over 90% trading activity on the market. Friday, also brought two 6M reports – Energoprojekt and Jedinstvo. Energoprojekt reported RSD 361m net loos from the consolidated basis, with 13.7% lower sales and operating loss, while Jedinstvo has better performances as it managed to boost 6M sales by 17%, even though net profit was down nearly 50% (this is not so crucial for the remaining period). (CNBC, ILIRIKA)
