TEHRAN- TEDPIX, the main index of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), dropped 17,301 points to 1.439 million on Saturday (the first day of Iranian calendar week).

As reported, over 5.748 billion securities worth 45.521 trillion rials (about $1.083 billion) were traded at the TSE.

The first market’s index lost 13,916 points, and the second market’s index fell 30,950 points.

TEDPIX rose 58,000 points (4.1 percent) to 1.456 million in the past Iranian calendar week (ended on Friday).

During the past week, the indices of Isfahan Refining Company, National Iranian Copper Industries Company, Mobarakeh Steel Company, Social Security Investment Company, Bandar Abbas Refining Company, Iran Khodro Group, and Saipa Company were the most widely followed ones.

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi hosted a meeting with the representatives of over 30 major companies active in the capital market on November 1 to exchange ideas for resolving issues and developing the economy.

Speaking in the meeting, Khandouzi said his ministry plans to make the economy more predictable and eliminate pricing systems that are harmful to the capital market and the stock exchange industry, Mehr News Agency reported.

The official noted that the government will follow new strategies to compensate for the budget deficit by making government assets more productive and also by selling surplus properties.

“The task of the Economy Ministry and the Securities and Exchange Organization is to develop tools and institutions in order to create a transparent, efficient, and predictable market,” Khandouzi stated.

It’s over two years that stock market in Iran has been playing an outstanding role in the attraction of the people’s investment.

Iranian people, who used to invest their money in some traditional ways such as buying gold, or deposit money in the banks, have taken a new approach for investment over the past two years, as they have been investing more and more in the stock market.

Different factors have created such condition, among them it could be referred to the efforts made by the stock market to attract people’s more investment through laying the proper ground, for example via introducing new financial instruments, and also by making people more acquainted with this market.

MA/MA