Last year's Q4 was not among the most successful periods for Bulgarian stock indexes, and we may say that the tendency was also observed in most countries of the region.

Bulgaria's blue chip indicator SOFIX fell 4.42% in Q4, which slowed its annual growth to 44.4%.

Among other regional markets, the negative trend was stronger in Montenegro, where the NEX20 lost 21.5%, research conducted by investment intermediary Karoll states. However, the NEX20 managed to gain 71.4% on an annual basis.

The number two decline in the region was that of Macedonian MIB-10, which lost 20.2% between October and December 2007.

The Macedonian index registered a serious gain for the entire 2007, adding a total of 100% to become the second best performer among stock indexes in the region.

The Serbian BELEX dropped 17.5% in the last quarter of 2007. Still, the indicator ended the year 37.53% up from 2006.

The Ukrainian PFTS saw the biggest gain in Q4 among countries in the region (excluding the Bulgarian broad indicator BG40 which added 159.2% in 2007) ending the year with a hike of 132.42%.

Russia's main index MICEX10 was also a good performer in the past quarter when it added 5.2%. It ended the year with a slight hike of 2.57%.

The Romanian BET-C and the Croatian CROBEX made slight gains in Q4 last year, respectively, 0.9% and 0.55%. On an annual basis, the Romanian index rose 32.64% and the Croatian gained 57.18%.

More details are given in the following chart:

CountryQ4 Change2007 ChangeBulgaria – SOFIX-4.42%44.42%Croatia – CROBEX0.55%57.81%Macedonia – MIB 10-20.23%100,00%Montenegro – NEX 20-21.46%71.4%Romania – BET C0.9%32.64%Russia – MICEX 105.23%2.57%Serbia - BELEXline-17.49%37.53%Turkey – ISE-100-0.36%37.66%Ukraine – PFTS12,00%132.42%

Source: Karoll