The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) was facing a bleak outlook for the rest of the year but analysts and investors were optimistic about its short- and long-term future, a poll by Dnevnik daily showed.

Most of the respondents said that the Bulgarian and the global capital markets had not seen the worst of the crisis yet, and that shares could be expected to recover no sooner than next year.

One in four people said the crisis is not over and new bank failures may be lying ahead. Only 22 percent said the worst was behind.

The BSE is tied up to the world's leading bourses and so may see further declines by the end of the year, analysts have said.

"Once the magic carpet of equity funding was pulled out from under investors' feet, shares started floating in all directions and still find it hard to hit solid ground," Krassimir Atanassov, portfolio manager at Elana Fund Management, said.

Panic and lack of confidence among BSE investors caused massive withdrawals from mutual funds and closing of repo deals.

The real implications of the global financial cataclysms on the Bulgarian economy will be felt only next year. Atanassov said global stock indices may bounce back over the next three or six months but did not rule out further steep declines on the developed markets that would send new shudders down Bulgarian investors' spines.

Source: Dnevnik.bg