10/29/2007

Warsaw shares close down; commodity stocks, TVN and TPSA cap losses UPDATE

WARSAW, Oct. 26, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex)
Warsaw shares closed down a touch, with falls among major banks overshadowing gains from commodity stocks, broadcaster TVN and telecom TPSA, which took heart from higher open on Wall Street.

The blue-chip WIG20 gauge was down 0.15 pct at 3,855.61, after rising close to its all-time high of 3,919.10 hit early July. The broad-based WIG finished down 0.37 pct at 63,366.34.

Strong earnings from software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) encouraged rises on Wall Street. Investors also hope that the Federal Reserve will lower US interest rates again next week.

'People probably think that the worse it gets, the better it will be, awaiting a rate cut by Fed next week,' said Wojciech Wosko, broker at BZ WBK in Warsaw. 'Next week the Warsaw bourse will brace itself for Fed's Wednesday decision.'
Poland's largest telecom TPSA led gainers in Warsaw with a 0.7 pct rise, continuing to benefit from better than expected results showed yesterday. Sole listed broadcaster TVN jumped 4.0 pct to its highest level since early May after the company raised its 2007 revenue forecasts earlier this week.

Commodity-related stocks, among them Europe's biggest copper miner KGHM and Poland's largest oil refiner PKN Orlen, were also up, rising 1.4 and 1.2 pct respectively, taking their cue from rises in copper and oil prices.

But gains were capped by the banking sector. Investors decided to take profits from leading lenders on concerns about their third-quarter results after a slowdown in home loan and mutual fund growth took the shine off Bank Millennium's results last Thursday.

The gas monopoly PGNiG also declined after recent run-up in its share price, while bathroom-fitting maker Cersanit and construction company Polimex lost 4.3 and 1.8 pct, respectively.
Source: by Adrian Krajewski, money.cnn.com



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