SLOVENIA
KD Group shares dominate trading on Ljubljana stock market
Thursday's trading on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange was dominated by the issue of the asset manager KD Group, which added more than 8% on EUR 3.12m in volumes. The SBI TOP index was down 0.39% to 869 points. In all, EUR 3.59m worth of securities changed hands.
Source: STA
Average pay in January down over December but up Y/Y
The average monthly gross pay in Slovenia in January amounted to EUR 1,729.15, a 3% decrease on December in nominal terms and 1.9% less in real norms. The average net pay stood at EUR 1,115.98, down 4% in nominal and 2.9% in real terms compared to the month before.
Source: STA
Housing market experiences slowdown in 2018, but prices grow further
The Slovenian housing market showed signs of a slowdown in 2018 after a recovery that started in 2015. The number of real estate deals was down by around 10% last year compared to 2017 and their total value by 5%. Prices however continued rising, in the capital, shows the annual report of the Mapping and Surveying Authority (GURS).
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Positive start of the week
Stocks in Asia rallied with U.S. and European futures ticking higher as gains that pushed global equities to their highest since October continued ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. Treasuries were little changed. Chinese and Hong Kong shares led the advance with Australian and South Korean equities posting more modest gains. U.S. futures reversed earlier losses to edge higher after the S&P 500 Index capped its best week since November on Friday. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 2.6 percent. The dollar drifted, while the Aussie strengthened.
Source: Bloomberg
In this week
Company earnings include FedEx, China Telecom, Tencent, Porsche, BMW, Hermes, Tiffany, Micron, Nike and PetroChina. The Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady, announce the end of asset roll-off from its balance sheet, and lower projections for the number of interest rate hikes this year. The decision is due Wednesday.
Source: Bloomberg
SERBIA
BELEX15 extends weekly gains
Belgrade Airports’ (AERO) weekly jump of 11.6% as well as additional advance at Komercijalna Banka (KMBN), were enough to keep BELEX15 in green on a weekly basis. Blue-chip index added 1.9%, while broad BELEXline was up 1.13%. NIIS (NIIS) was the most trade name, with RSD 81.2m in volume, with no corporate events. It was followed by Fitofarmacija which generated RSD 8m in volume, as well as Komercijalna. Several days ago, Fitofarmacija reported RSD 746m in its FY 2018 net profit, which is basically flat y/y (down 1.1%). The company boosted sales by 4% y/y, due to slightly higher domestic placements and improved export. It operating profit was down 7%, due to higher cost of materials and lowered end products prices. From the macro side, we had Serbian Statistical Office report on inflation. Consumer price growth equaled 0.7% in February 2019. Monthly inflation was determined by seasonally higher prices of fresh vegetables and fruit, and the cigarette price adjustment. The major downward pressure came from the seasonally lower prices of fresh meat, clothes and footwear. Consistent with NBS expectations, y-o-y inflation remained stable in February – at 2.4%.
Source: Ilirika
