The PX-50 index closed down 0.11% yesterday but closed above 600 points, still near its three-year high, to 611.6 points. Despite that UK markets were closed yesterday, the traded volume in the SPAD system in Prague reached a near-average level of USD 19.30 mil. After an initial sell-off from domestic investors after the opening, when some individual losses exceed 2%, stocks rebounded on foreign buying--CEZ and Cesky Telecom were especially well demanded. Unipetrol gained 4.80% after Lukoil was announced as the tender winner for the Serbian fuel retailer Beopetrol, the wining bid there fueling expectations of robust bidding (and a consequent buyout price) for the Czech state’s 63% stake in the Unipetrol petrochemical group. We believe the market will continue to rise in the coming days, while the sellers will be mostly domestic houses and retail accounts.
Milan Procházka