New investors on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange rose 30% year-on-year (y/y) in January, the first month after Bulgaria joined the eurozone, as a sharp rally in blue-chip shares and a surge in trading activity revived interest in the small market, the exchange said on February 5.

The benchmark SOFIX index climbed more than 14% in the first five trading sessions after euro adoption, rising to 1,323.06 points from 1,156.43, while turnover jumped by nearly 184% over the same period.

January turnover exceeded €45mn, a 2.6-fold increase from a year earlier, as the first full month operating in the single currency boosted confidence. The number of transactions rose to 16,442, up 2.8 times on an annual basis, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) said in a press release.

Most of the activity was driven by local retail investors, who made up about 90% of market participants and accounted for roughly 80% of turnover. Interest from abroad also picked up, with the number of new foreign investors increasing 64% y/y.

“Such dynamics can hardly be maintained at an avalanche pace,” said Manyu Moravenov, executive director of the BSE. “More importantly, we are observing not a one-time effect, but the result of long-term processes – technological readiness, modernised market infrastructure and accumulated expectations around the eurozone.”

He added that the challenge would be to turn the initial surge into a sustainable trend.

The SOFIX index rose by nearly 19% over the full month of January, making it one of the world’s best-performing equity indices during that period, supported mainly by banking, technology and holding companies, sectors seen as beneficiaries of reduced currency risk and lower risk premiums.

Trading activity cooled after mid-month but remained above levels seen at the start of 2025, the exchange said.

The BSE also pointed to comparisons with Croatia, which adopted the euro in 2023, noting that while Croatian market activity strengthened more gradually after euro entry, Bulgaria has seen a stronger initial momentum.