The PX-50 index dropped 1.37% to 790.7 points yesterday. The loss can be attributed to the ongoing correction of the Czech market after its weeks of performing strongly; the weakness was accelerated by the terrorist attacks in Madrid. A number of natural buyers stepped back and lost the appetite to increase their exposure to equity risk. Only České radiokomunikace had a good day, gaining 5.4% after its mobile arm posted strong 2003 results; the stock is also suffering from a lack of sellers even at these levels. Unipetrol was under pressure from a domestic seller. CEZ, Cesky Telecom and Komercni banka were the most obvious targets of international sellers. Cesky Telecom is likely to bottom out at CZK 320, while Komercni banka is still seeking its level after it fell from CZK 3,100 to CZK 2,900 in virtually 2 sessions. We expect weakness in Erste Bank as its rival Bank Austria reported weaker results from its EMEA banking arm. Total volume reached USD 94.29m yesterday.
Milan Procházka, Patria Finance