The PX-50 index gained 1.7% on Thursday, closing at 418.7 points. Strong international demand led Komercni banka higher, to CZK 1,035. We believe that KB’s recent strong gains are due to today’s deadline for the submission of binding bids in the state’s privatization of the bank and related privatization news flow. Cesky Telecom also gained strongly yesterday, particularly after the ECB’s interest-rate cut, adding 2.16% to CZK 350.6 near closing, but a seller pushed the stock back down to CZK 350.10 before trading ended. CEZ traded at CZK 107, again led by international demand; Sporitelna gained slightly ahead of the release of Q1 results today; and Ceske radio traded with higher volumes at the CZK 510 level. Total volume reached USD 18.45 mil. on Thursday. For today, we expect Komercni to hold its recent gains, and Cesky Telecom to trade in line with European bourses.
(Milan Procházka)