On Monday, the PX-50 index closed down 1.14%, to 415,2 points. The decline was led primarily by Cesky Telecom, which closed down 1.58% to CZK 362.20 after the company released disappointing Q1 2001 IAS results. More than 499,000 Cesky Telecom shares changed hands on Monday. Despite the disappointing results, it is our belief that Cesky Telecom’s near-term outlook will be solely related to US market trends, which we see as rather positive. CEZ lost 1.90%, to CZK 103.30, but the weakness was likely due to limited liquidity ahead of the public holiday on Tuesday, May 1. Total market volume reached USD 8.53 mil. on Monday. For today, we expect a strong opening with Cesky Telecom as the top gainer; we have recently observed the increased participation of London brokers and foreign investors and believe that their interest will continue.
(Milan Procházka)