Prague Stock Exchange sees slight dip as Erste surges, KB falls

Prague, May 5 (CTK) - The Prague Stock Exchange's (BCPP) headline PX index lost 0.15 percent to 2,056.89 points today, with Erste Group Bank gaining nearly 7 percent while Komercni banka (KB) lost 6.3 percent, according to the results of trading on the stock exchange's website.

"The reason for the rise in the share price of Erste Group was the developments in the field of M&A. Erste announced that it is buying 49 percent of the Polish bank Santander. This should bring a substantial increase in financial performance," said Bohumil Trampota, an analyst at Komercni banka. Erste added 6.98 percent to Kc1,578.

Komercni banka's 6.32 percent drop to Kc993 was of a technical nature as the title traded ex-dividend for the first time, according to Josef Dudek of Fio banka.

Energy group CEZ erased part of Friday's gains today, closing 1.76 percent weaker at Kc1,175. On the other hand, insurer VIG gained 2.27 percent to Kc1,080 and Moneta Money Bank closed today's session at Friday's Kc136.40.

Among the smaller issues, arms maker Colt CZ wrote off 2.19 percent to Kc671 and solar power plant builder Photon Energy lost nearly 3 percent to Kc19.50. By contrast, engineering firm Doosan Skoda Power and tobacco company Philip Morris gained 1.55 percent to Kc327 and 1.13 percent to Kc17,960, respectively.

hel/er