TEHRAN – A market analyst believes that the Iranian stock exchange market can grow by 30 percent by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2023).

In an interview with IRNA on Sunday, Ahmad Eshtiaqi pointed to the growth of the stock market index and the factors affecting it and said: “It seems that the shares of companies still have room for growth and according to the forecasts, the stock market can grow by about 30 percent by the end of the year, but this growth will be gradual and slow.”

The analyst noted that the shareholders’ interest in the capital market over the past few years has been due to the value of companies' stock, so when the shares still have room to grow, the market index will grow as well.

Global prices, an influential factor in stock market

The capital market expert further mentioned another factor influencing the rise of the stock market index and continued: "World prices rose sharply after the Russia and Ukraine war and oil prices reached more than $100, and this has affected the performance of some companies to some extent."

He stated that in addition to the crude oil prices, the prices of petrochemical products and metals like copper, zinc, and other commodities have risen.

Given that the stock market is commodity-based, therefore, the shares of the companies and refineries also experience significant growth in value, he said.

In addition to the above-mentioned factors, the offering of the shares of major Iranian car companies namely Iran Khodro and Saipa also helped to stimulate the growth in the capital market.

Market outlook in current year

Asked about his view on the trend of the market in the current year, Eshtiaqi said: “According to the forecasts, it seems that the stock market index will reach the range of 1.8 million points by the end of 1401.”

According to him, most of the market growth will occur by the end of the fourth Iranian calendar month of Tir (July 22) and will experience a growth of about 20 percent by that point.

“If the nuclear deal is revived, we will see good days in the capital market and other parallel markets will not have much luck in comparison to the stock market,” he added.

EF/MA