Kyiv-listed stocks extended their winning streak last week, with the UX index now having gained nearly 30% since the start of the year. There were bullish bets across the board as blue chip companies reported fairly solid profits for FY17, fueling hopes for even higher profits this year. Among overall encouraging expectations for Ukraine were the latest agro forecasts suggesting that the national grain harvest should increase by at least 1 million tonnes to 62mn tonnes in 2018. There was some ground for optimism on the political stability front, with the likelihood fading that a pre-term parliamentary election would be called before the presidential election due next March.
The UX index broke through its local resistance line at 1750, jumping 4.0% to end at 1802 points. CentrEnergo (CEEN) added the most points to the index, surging 7.3% to UAH 21.35 per share, while long-sluggish UkrNafta (UNAF) finally enjoyed a solid gain of 3.0% to UAH 114. Meanwhile, recent top performer Motor Sich (MSICH) had a quiet week, inching up by 0.2% to UAH 5340 even though the company made a presentation of its new multi-functional light helicopter on the basis of the Mi-2 machine. Low-liquidity blue chip TurboAtom (TATM) picked up 3.5% to end at UAH 14.30.
On the London Stock Exchange, shares of Ferrexpo (FXPO) continued their downward move caused by the worsening iron ore pricing outlook. The stock slipped 1.2% to GBp 218. Poultry giant MHP (MHPC) was flat at USD 13.50, with the announcement of an Apr 20 ex-rights date for MHP’s dividend of around 75 cents having no evident influence on trading.
Warsaw-listed major Ukrainian agro stocks finished mixed, with Astarta (AST) losing 1.7% to PLN 46.90 while sunflower oil exporter Kernel (KER) advanced by 3.8% to PLN 52.00 per share. Kernel’s stock received a boost after the company said it entered Chinese market with supplies of sunflower meal, which is the by-product of the extraction of oil from sunflower seeds.
On the currency front, the hryvnia broke the UAH 26 level at mid-week but failed to defend it, ending with a decline of 0.5% against the dollar to 26.15 UAH/USD. Meanwhile, the National Bank kept its key refinancing rate unchanged at 17.00% after its board meeting on Apr 12.
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS
- Ukraine Offers Support for West’s Syria Offensive
- Headline Inflation Slows by 0.8pp to 13.2% in March
full report
Eavex Capital welcomes any questions or comments you may have regarding our research products.
Please contact our office in Kyiv at 380-44-590-5454, or by email:
Alexander Klymchuk, Head of Sales, a.klymchuk@eavex.com.ua
Dmitry Churin, Head of Research, d.churin@eavex.com.ua
