Czech equities, as measured by the PX Index, were up by 1.7% for the week to close at 1,688.7. The overall volume of trading on the PSE reached USD 722.7m, 6.5% below its 12M weekly average of USD 773.2m.
Erste Bank finished higher, in-line with the Polish banking sector, supported by strong buying interest from Vienna. The best performer of the past week was Philip Morris. The stock gained a nice 5.1% with foreign investors on the buy side. CME added 4.4% (it has risen approximately 30% in the last 3 weeks) thanks to interest from international investors. Unipetrol closed slightly in positive territory after company announced that it sold its Kaucuk subsidiary for a better than expected price. Also, Unipetrol’s CEO supported the stock with comments about a possible acquisition.
Zentiva outperformed the Hungarian pharmas due to foreign buyers. The biggest laggard of the past week became the new listing Pegas. Its price fell on the back of stop loss order selling, which dragged the shares down below their IPO price. CEZ declined by 0.5% on weak energy prices. For the coming week, we don't see any major corporate catalysts expected.