Polish equity market closed lower on Friday. The broad market measure, the WIG Index, fell by 0.15%. Sector-wise, oil and gas names (-3.51%) were the worst-performing group, while automobiles (+2.29%) outpaced.

The large-cap stocks' measure, the WIG30 Index, dropped by 0.31%. Oil refiner PKN ORLEN (WSE: PKN) was the biggest drag on the index, as the stock tumbled by 4.62% following announcement Poland increased its stake in the company. The Energy Ministry stated that Polish state pipeline operator PERN has bought a 4.9 percent stake in the company since August 2016 to date for about PLN1.5 bln ($365.37 mln). According to the statement, the stake acquisition will give Poland a lot more flexibility in terms of participation at the company's shareholder meetings. Recall, Poland's State Treasury is PKN ORLEN's largest shareholder with 27.52% of shares and votes. Among other biggest decliners were coking coal miner JSW (WSE: JSW), chemical producer GRUPA AZOTY (WSE: ATT) and bank MILLENNIUM (WSE: MIL), which fell by 3.7%, 2.6% and 2.14% respectively. At the same time, CD PROJEKT (WSE: CDR) recorded strongest advance among the WIG30 components, jumping by 3.93%. It was followed by IT-company ASSECO POLAND (WSE: ACP), bank ALIOR (WSE: ALR) and genco ENERGA (WSE: ENG), which gained 1.74%, 1.68% and 1.55% respectively.