The PX-50 index closed down 0.12% with Erste Bank being the biggest laggard of the day, remaining under strong pressure as the market anticipates it will launch an aggressive bid for the leading Romanian lender BCR. Romania should announce the two top bidders on October 17th and a minimum price tag of USD 3bn is being rumored as the cost of the controlling stake. Should Erste win the tender, we would expect a capital hike via a stock sale. CEZ closed up following our upgrade, while Zentiva continues to be under pressure and closed below the CZK 1,100 level.
PPI (August): August industrial output will be released today at 9:00am CET. The market expects an increase of 8.0% yoy. Patria estimates output to rise 8.0% yoy.