The Czech market reflected the positive mood on major European and EMEA markets on Tuesday, adding 1.43% as measured by the PX-50 index. The gainer of the day was, to the surprise of many, Ceska Sporitelna—the stock touched CZK 230 highs, a level at which it had not traded since September 1998. More than 780,000 shares changed hands, buyers were purely foreign accounts. We believe there is no immediate upside story in the bank; we are more inclined to think investors are betting on a turnaround story and on the fundamental improvement of the bank in the long term. Cesky Telecom added 2.93% to close at CZK 551.10, gaining less than its emerging European peers, but still following the trend. Komercni reached the CZK 900 level; the stock has good momentum as investors await updated information on the bank’s privatization. The overall market volume reached USD 20.14 mil. yesterday.
(Milan Procházka)