Foreign funds, net sellers in August

Foreign investments on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in August registered a minus of 26.7m euros, with foreign funds being net sellers for the first time in the past year, according to the data published on the BSE website. Foreigners’ sales overlapped with a correction of the Stock Exchange, which also came amid the current crisis on international markets. The BET lost around 8.5% in the first half of August, but recouped the loss in the second half of the month. The SIF index, BET-FI, during the same period lost around 13%. August corrections followed a very good period when stock exchange indexes registered all-time highs. Brokers say no one can talk about increased sales on the part of the foreign investors but rather of less interest in buying. In addition, brokers also believe that during this period, institutional investors are more concerned about the global crisis and pay less attention to small markets, such as Romania.