Ukrainian stocks listed in Kyiv were mixed last week, with the PFTS index inching up by 0.1% to 526 points. A report from the National Bank that the business activity outlook index had grown for a third month in a row had a neutral impact on the local market. According to the results of the survey in September, the service and industrial sectors are the most optimistic, for which the indexes were 57.3 and 58.1 respectively. A reading above the neutral level of 50 implies a positive business outlook compared with the previous month.
In individual PFTS index components, UkrNafta (UNAF) corrected by 1.3% to UAH 150 per share while Raiffeisen Bank Aval (BAVL) gained 1.7%, moving back above the 30-kopeck line to 30.50.
In London trading there was a further drop in iron ore producer Ferrexpo (FXPO) that was likely associated with a court decision obligating the company’s CEO and majority owner Constantine Zhevago to repay UAH 1.5bn (USD 60mn) of the National Bank’s 2015 refinancing of Zhevago’s insolvent Finance&Credit Bank. FXPO lost 8.8% to close at GBp 156 per share. MHP (MHPC) was also lower, falling 5.3% to USD 8.52 per share, which we believe is a reflection of investors’ concerns regarding the company’s debt policy.
Warsaw-listed Ukrainian agro companies were under selling pressure, with Kernel (KER) losing 2.4% to PLN 43.40 and Astarta (AST) sliding 9.3% to PLN 18.50.
The hryvnia was volatile last week, at one point losing as much as 5% and touching the 25 UAH/USD level before recovering to 24.85 UAH/USD, a loss of 3.0% for the week after the domestic currency’s very strong performance in September. We suppose that the resignation of top reformer Oleksandr Danyliuk from President Zelenskiy’s government created some concern among investors about Kyiv’s chances of receiving a new IMF loan program.
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