Prague Stock Exchange rises after four days of decline

Prague Stock Exchange rises after four days of decline

Prague, March 4 (CTK) - The Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) rose today after four days of decline, its PX index adding 1.12 percent to 2,614.72 points, with shares of Erste Group Bank and insurance company VIG gaining more than 3 percent, according to the bourse's website.

"On Wednesday, stock markets saw some calming and corrected some of the previous losses after the US President (Donald Trump) promised to protect tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. This information eased investors' fears of an oil supply disruption," said Fio banka broker Pavel Hadrousek.

The PX index returned above the 2,600-point mark today, Wood & Company broker Barbora Zelena noted.

According to Hadrousek, the growth was driven by Austrian financial issues, which suffered the biggest drop at the beginning of the week. Erste Bank rose by 3.68 percent to CZK2,395 today and VIG by 3.18 percent to CZK1,558. However, shares of other banks fell - Komercni banka lost 0.53 percent to CZK1,132 and Moneta Money Bank wrote off 0.31 percent to CZK190.60.

On the other hand, securities of arms companies went up. Colt CZ gained 0.56 percent to CZK892 and CSG firmed by 1.83 percent to CZK725. Engineering company Doosan Skoda Power rose by 0.61 percent to CZK411, while energy company CEZ added a slight 0.08 percent to CZK1,201. Securities of tobacco company Philip Morris were flat at CZK20,000.

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