ceka se jen na vysledky 29.2.2008
01/31/2008 13:54:00 THOMSON FINANCIAL NEWS
STOCKWATCH Erste Bank shares sharply lower on Romania concerns, market sentiment
Shares in Erste Bank AG were sharply lower in solid volumes in early afternoon trading, reflecting investors' unabated concerns about the bank's comparatively high exposure to the Romanian market, as well as the broader negative sentiment for financials.
At 12.30 pm, Erste Bank was down 6.91 pct to 34.35 eur, while the ATX index was 1.93 pct lower at 3,759.75.
The Austrian bank's share price plummet was in-line with the declines posted by such large peers as UBS, Barclays and Credit Suisse, but stood in contrast to Raiffeisen International's modest drop of 2.07 pct to 82.51 eur.
Investors are increasingly concerned that negative developments in Romania's current account balance (zostatok bežného účtu) , lending rate levels and currency will weigh heavily on Erste Bank's Romanian unit BCR.
Traders said they expect these concerns and the generally negative sentiment for financials to remain the principal drivers for Erste Bank's share price at least until the bank presents its preliminary full-year results at the end of February.