CEE MARKETS-Prague stocks touch highest since 2008, currencies firm

Moneta Money Bank, A.s

18/10/2024 11:16

WARSAW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Prague stocks powered to
their highest level in over 16 years on Friday while central
Europe's currencies pulled away from weaker levels seen earlier
this week.
    Stock markets in central Europe, except for Warsaw  .WIG20 ,
have climbed 13% to 23% so far in 2024 and some - like Budapest
 .BUX  and Bucharest  .BETI  - have hit all-time highs,
following other bourses in Europe that have reached new peaks.
    Prague shares, which lean heavily toward dividend stocks,
were led higher by Czech lender Moneta Money Bank  MONET.PR ,
which rose as much as 2.5% and hit an all-time high after
management proposed paying an extraordinary dividend.
    "Bank (stocks) are supporting the index as some are on their
all-time high or close to that," said Milan Vanicek, an analyst
at J&T Banka. 
    "That is because they are doing well and sharing it with
their shareholders as we see at Moneta with its extra dividend."
    The Czech crown  EURCZK=  inched up 0.1% against the euro to
25.2010 by 0952 GMT, at its strongest level this month.
    The Hungarian forint  EURHUF=  was also 0.1% higher against
the euro at 399.85, trading on the stronger side of the
psychologically important level of 400, ahead of the National
Bank of Hungary (NBH) rate-setting meeting next Tuesday.
    Hungary's central bank is widely expected to pause rate cuts
at 6.5%  HUINT=ECI  despite inflation hitting its 3% target for
the first time since 2021 after recent falls in the forint
 EURHUF=  raised fears of a rebound in price growth.
    The forint firmed past 400 also in the previous session
after Deputy Central Bank Governor Barnabas Virag said that the
bank may pause its rate cuts not only this month, but the base
rate could remain at its current level for a longer time if
warranted by external risks and the inflation outlook. It then
slipped back past the psychological level.
    "It's already almost certain that a rate cut is not on the
table, but we could hear more details on how long the pause in
the cutting cycle may be," ING wrote in a note.
    In Poland, the zloty  EURPLN=  firmed 0.2% to 4.3080, making
up for some of its losses from a day earlier when it hit its
weakest level in over a week, but it continued to trade on the
weaker side of the 4.30 psychological level.
    "In the coming hours we see potential for stabilization of
EURPLN quotes. However, the pair will probably remain slightly
above the level of 4.30," Poland's state-owned development bank
BGK said in a note.
 
    
            CEE       SNAPSHOT   AT                         
            MARKETS             1152 CET            
                      CURRENCI                              
                      ES                            
                      Latest    Previous  Daily     Change
                      trade     close     change    in 2024
 Czech                                             
 Hungary                                           
 Polish                                            
 Romanian                                          
 Serbian                                           
 Note:      calculated from               1800 CET          
 daily                                              
 change                                             
                                                            
                      Latest    Previous  Daily     Change
                                close     change    in 2024
 Prague      .PX       1619.66  1612.970    +0.41%   +14.54%
                                       0            
 Budapest    .BUX     74781.77  74127.83    +0.88%   +23.36%
 Warsaw      .WIG20    2308.75   2283.98    +1.08%    -1.46%
 Bucharest   .BETI    17431.41  17445.58    -0.08%   +13.40%
                                                            
                                          Spread    Daily
                                          vs Bund   change
                                                    in
 Czech                                              spread
 Republic                                           
   2-year                                         
   5-year                                         
   10-year                                       
 Poland                                                     
   2-year                                         
   5-year                                         
   10-year                                       
            FORWARD                                         
                      3x6       6x9       9x12      3M
                                                    interban
                                                    k
 Czech Rep   CZKFRA       3.80      3.51      3.32      4.13
                                                   
 Hungary     HUFFRA       6.31      6.03      5.81      6.37
             BUBOR=                                 
 Poland      PLNFRA       5.78      5.44      4.99      5.85
             WIBOR=                                 
 Note: FRA  are for ask prices                              
 quotes                                             
 *************************************************          
 *************                                      
 
 (Reporting by Karol Badohal in Warsaw, Jason Hovet in Prague,
Anita Komuves in Budapest; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((karl.badohal@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
((For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets:
All emerging market news  EMRG   CEEU   CEE/ 
Spot FX rates
Eastern Europe spot FX  EEFX=   Middle East spot FX  MEFX= 
Asia spot FX  ASIAFX=           Latin America spot FX  LATAMFX= 
Other news and reports
World central bank news  CEN  Economic Data Guide  ECONGUIDE 
Official rates  GLOBAL/INT    Emerging Diary  EMRG/DIARY 
Top events  M/DIARY   Diaries  DIARY  Diaries Index  IND/DIARY ))