TEHRAN- TEDPIX, the main index of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), lost 12,196 points to 1.579 million on Wednesday.

As reported, over 13.544 billion securities worth 73.196 trillion rials (about $192.6 million) were traded at the TSE.

The first market’s index dropped 10,164 points, and the second market’s index lost 20,754 points.

TEDPIX climbed 151,114 points (10.1 percent) to 1.647 million points in the past Iranian calendar week (ended on Friday).

The index has risen 87,603 points (6.22 percent) to 1.496 million points in the previous Iranian calendar month Azar (ended on December 21, 2022).

TSE is one of the four Iranian stock exchanges, and the most important one. The other three ones are Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME), Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX), and Iran’s over-the-counter (OTC) market, known as Iran Fara Bourse (IFB).

Iranian government has allocated 150 trillion rials (about $394.7 million) to the country’s Capital Market Stabilization and Development Fund (CMSDF) in the budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1402 (begins on March 21) to support small shareholders, Tasnim news agency reported on January 1.

As reported, the government has decided to supply the mentioned fund from the shares of state-owned companies to protect small shareholders against the risks of the capital market.

Also, in order to strengthen the companies active in the market, a part of their profit which is allocated to increasing their capital is going to be exempted from tax; this will encourage such companies to increase capital and expand their activities.

In late October 2022, Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) unveiled a comprehensive support package to encourage activities in the capital market as shareholders were getting reluctant to invest in the market.

One of the major measures considered in this package was the insurance of shareholders’ capital and dividends over the next Iranian calendar year.

Earlier in February 2022, the government's economic coordination headquarters had also unveiled a support package for the capital market, which included measures such as reducing the price of petrochemical feed, reducing taxes on manufacturing companies, defining new regulations for the mining sector, increasing the capital of the Stock Market Stabilization Fund, controlling the release of government bonds, and determining the exchange rate of the banks; but this package, despite the temporary positive effects, was not able to change the general trend of the market and prevent the continuous fall of the stock prices.

MA/MA