Czech blue chips closed stronger last week, up 1.7% as measured by the blue-chip PX-D index, which closed the week at 1,416.3 points. The broader market also increased, as the headline PX-50 index was up 1.6% to 574.4 points.
CEZ was the main gainer last week, it continued to trade on a positive momentum supported by company information about increased export volume and domestic sales. CEZ saw its value increase by 4.7% to CZK 127.2. Ceske radiokomunikace added 3.3% to CZK 270.50, as its 39%-owned subsidiary, T-Mobile CR, reported better-than-expected H1 2003 results according to German GAAP. Erste Bank also closed the week stronger at CZK 2,584, up 3.0%. Komercni banka was the busiest stock again last week, as USD 75 mil. worth of its shares changed hands (49% of the overall PSE liquidity last week). The stock gained 1.9% to CZK 2,147 on no apparent news. Unipetrol added 1.0% on the week and closed Friday at CZK 59. On the other side, Philip Morris CR lost 1.2% on foreign selling. The main loser of the week was Cesky Telecom, which lost 2.2% to CZK 276.5.
The overall traded volume on the PSE reached USD 154.5 mil. which was 11% higher than the 12M weekly average of USD 139.3 mil.
As for this week, Erste Bank is expected to report its H1 consolidated IFRS results on Wednesday and Czech foreign-trade data is due to be released on Friday.
Jitka Oppitzová