Tehran, Iran, February 17
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has been witnessing crazy boom in the past weeks, which is largely attributable to Iran nuclear deal, officially termed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), put to force on January 16. The deal ended years-long sanctions on Iran.
Statistics show that the main index has jumped 22 percent since the sanctions lifted, and is up 25.6 percent so far into the current Iranian year (which started March 21).
TSE Public Relations chief Hamid Rouhbakhsh on February 9 announced the year's record of 78,200, adding "This year an average of 600 billion rials ($19.9 million) per day was added to the assets of natural persons."
The general vibe at the Glass Hall, the TSE's main lobby, is upbeat and busier than ever.
"The deal has brought a great leap in the indices and I expect the trend to go on yet," Jahangir, a shareholder said while keenly following the numbers appearing on the screen.
Analysts at ACL, an investment firm focused on Iran, have said investors are attracted by the market's low valuations and the prospect of new investment and a pick-up in economic growth, according to CNN Money.
The Tehran Stock Exchange is among the five biggest markets in the Middle East, with more than 300 listed companies and a market cap of around $100 billion.
"I can't give you any comment but to say we hadn't seen such a day before," a shareholder said on condition of anonymity.
"The actual benefits of the lifting of sanctions will take six to 12 months to start to feed into companies' financials," , Reuters on February 14 quoted Payam Malayeri, head of asset management at Griffon Capital, a Tehran-based firm which last month launched an offshore equity fund focused on Iran.
Meanwhile, falling bank deposit rates could push billions of dollars into stocks, Malayeri added.
Deposit rates soared in the sanctions era, when inflation was high and the rial weak; authorities have begun guiding them down from above 20 percent.