HEX (Helsinki) Market Overviews

Stock exchanges are working already for two weeks, but it seems that the markets are still chilled by winter holidays. During those two weeks OMXH25 index dropped by 7.57% and reached the value of 2777 which is the lowest worth in the past 52 weeks. Figures show that only three stocks increased in value this year: two telecommunication companies Elisa Oyj and TeliaSonera AB, and also Sampo Oyj. All other 22 stocks went down in value influencing overall decline of the index.

Winner of the week is insurance company Sampo Oyj. The stock went up by 2.65% and is an YTD leader in the market. Though the company performance was influenced by the overall markets trend in the world, company managed to jump to the leaders because of the Annual Review of information published in 2007. Apart from that, technical analysis shows that Convergence/divergence lines crossed each other on 3rd January, which means that now it is the best time to buy this position. However, the stock is quite boring and we recommend it for more conservative investors.

Telecommunication company TeliaSonera AB with a slight increase of 1.4% became a second Year-To-Date winner. This is caused not only by fact that the company launched a new operating model which is more customer-focused, but also investors see that technical analysis stresses the beneficial time for the stock. However, speculators should be careful about the stock, because the turnover emphasizes that the stock tend to have bearish trend in the near future. Quite different situation is with the competitive telecommunication provider Elisa Oyj. The company already has increased by 0.8%. But the main raise in value was during the first week of the year, in week 2 the value decreased by 2.18%. And such a decreasing tendency may remain for the following week. The situation may change after 21 January, because company holds a general meeting and investors should find new press releases.

Amer Sports (AMEAS), the world’s leading sports equipment company, faced a decline of 21.58% during the last two weeks. The company's stock value dropped vastly on last Thursday, when it announced that winter sports equipment sales were lower than expected in December. However, the value started recovering the next day. The value of the shares is expected to increase or, if the mood in the market will stay very bearish, to drop relatively little, as Amer Sports only slightly correlates with the overall trend of the market. It was especially seen in the end of the last year when the price of the stock slightly fluctuated at the same level while the market was sinking.

M-real, one of the leading producers of paper and paperboard in Europe, continues its disastrous performance in the stock market, losing 17.54% this year. The company hasn't made any positive announcements recently, informed that it has problems in pulp production, growing wood costs are cutting its profits, the stocks of M-real have been dropping continuously since April. All these factors clearly indicate that M-real is not the best option for investors.

A lot of other companies, including Konecranes, Nokian Renkaat, Wartsila B, KONE B, Cargotec B, lost approximately 17% in value each. Those are the companies which mostly specialize in machinery & equipment. However, the awaited annual reports may change the situation. Strong results may finally enliven the market and pull it upwards.

By Ignas Daunys

Mindaugas Rapolas