PRAGUE/BUDAPEST/WARSCHAU (dpa-AFX) – The stock exchanges in Eastern Europe fell significantly on Monday. There were also heavy losses on other markets after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell fueled new fears of interest rate hikes with his speech on Friday.
The Czech PX index (PX Prague Stock Exchange Index) ended the day down 1.92 percent at 1164.57 points. The stock market barometer was weighed down by the losses in bank stocks Komercni Banka (Komercni Banka AS), Moneta Money Bank and Erste Group (Erste Group Bank), which fell by up to 3.5 percent.
The Hungarian BUX lost 1.64 percent to 42,631.81 points. In the Bux, too, one bank value in particular weighed on performance: the biggest loser among the heavyweights was OTP Bank (Orságos Takar És Ker BK ON) with a minus of 3.1 percent.
The Polish Wig-20 lost 1.84 percent to 1573.35 points. The broader Wig lost 1.93 percent to 51,274.10 points. The shares of the copper producer KGHM were hit particularly hard and fell by 6.5 percent. Several analysts had recently warned that high energy prices could pose a risk to the group.
The Moscow stock exchange, however, was able to increase at the start of the week. The Russian RTS Index (RTS) rose 1.26 percent to 1197.99 points./mik/spa/APA/la/nas