Polish stocks slide after the NATO member shoots down Russian drones in its airspace (updated)

Alior Bank SA

10/09/2025 09:51

Updates prices; adds details of drones, Tusk comments, graphic

Sept 10 (Reuters) - Polish stocks fell on Wednesday after Poland shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace during a widespread Russian attack in western Ukraine.

The Warsaw's bourse blue-chip index .WIG20 was down 1.3% at 1048 GMT, recovering slightly after falling as much as 2.6%. It was one of the few European indices trading lower.

"It's not panic but a noticeable downward move," Konrad Ryczko, an analyst at DM BOS, said, pointing to uncertainty over how the situation develops.

Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian attack on Ukraine and Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the country was the closest it has been to open conflict since World War Two.

Robert Maj, an analyst at Ipopema Securities, said the decline was a direct reaction to the overnight events and provided a reason for investors to cash in on recent gains.

"It's also a form of profit-taking because the Warsaw Stock Exchange was one of the best, if not the best, performing indexes this year," Maj said.

The benchmark index dropped when Russia launched its war against Poland's neighbour in February 2022, but has since recovered losses and is up some 28% so far this year, challenging markets like Hong Kong .HIS in terms of year to date gains.

However, some stocks exposed to the defence sector gained as investors anticipated they could benefit from an escalation.

Shares in specialised shoemaker Protektor PRTE.WA jumped more than 30%, military supplier Lubawa LBW.WA was up 8%, while Zremb Chojnice ZRE.WA, which makes dual-use steel structures, jumped around 12% to a record high.

"Companies in the defence sector ... can gain from an escalation of geopolitical tension, and that's exactly what we're seeing on the stock exchange today," Maj added.

Lenders Alior Bank ALRR.WA, PKP BP PKO.WA, Pekao PEO.WA and refiner Orlen PKN.WA were leading losses on the WIG20 index, all down around 2%.

Warsaw's blue-chip stocks are the second-best performers in Europe YTD https://www.reuters.com/graphics/POLISH-STOCKS/znvnnmralvl/chart_eikon.jpg

 (Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Marta Maciag, editing by Alun John)

 ((anna.pruchnicka@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 14;))