Erste Bank shares continued weakening ahead of the Raiffeisen International IPO due later this month; we think some funds are continuing to raise cash for the USD 1bn initial offering. We however do not anticipate any broad market sell-off due to this transaction as past similar deals had little impact on the market. Cesky Telecom touched CZK 450 in the morning, again with high volumes and large cross trades; we are likely to see near-term resistance at CZK 450 as that is where the minimum buyout average price is. However any break above 450 may signal further gains and we would not be surprised if Cesky Telecom climbed towards the Telefonica premium bid of app. CZK 500 in the near term. Politics no longer represent a material threat to the share prices on the PSE as the government has limited influence over the locally listed names and no further government-led deal is expected any time soon.
The March inflation and unemployment rates are released today at 9:00am CET. The market expects the CPI index to rise by 0.1% m/m and 1.7% y/y. Patria expects the index to stagnate m/m and a rise by 1.6% y/y. The unemployment rate is expected at 10.3%, slightly down from 10.6% in February.