As expected, Prague traded lower on Monday, as Cesky Telecom traded well below CZK 500 (intra-day range of CZK 487-498). Initially, the pressure came from foreign sellers, followed by stop-losses from local houses. Weakness in local telco stocks was reflected also in the sharp drop in price for Ceske radiokomunikace (CR), down 2.65% to CZK 1,250. The stock traded as low as CZK 1,233. Despite the likelihood of a dividend, CR stock fails to generate much interest among investors. CEZ broke the CZK 110 level on a one-time lift-off by a foreign broker; the stock eventually closed up 1.53%, to CZK 109.60. Komercni saw the recent strong buying interest in its stock dissipate and traded below CZK 1,020 (with an intra-day low of CZK 1,010). Total volume reached USD 18.91 mil. on Monday. For today, we expect the market to open flat, and expect Komercni banka's further weakness.
(Milan Procházka)