Polish equity market closed higher on Monday. The broad market measure, the WIG Index, added 0.11%. Sector performance within the WIG Index was mixed. Media (+1.93%) outperformed, while utilities (-2.47%) lagged behind.
The large-cap stocks' measure, the WIG30 Index, inched up 0.09%. In the index basket, IT-company ASSECO POLAND (WSE: ACP) and chemical producer GRUPA AZOTY (WSE: ATT) were the biggest advancers, jumping by 2.97% and 2.94% respectively. They were followed by media group CYFROWY POLSAT (WSE: CPS) and two banks MBANK (WSE: MBK) and MILLENNIUM (WSE: MIL), which gained 2.67%, 2.29% and 1.97% respectively. On the other side of the ledger, genco PGE (WSE: PGE) led the decliners, tumbling by 3.83%. The Polish treasury asked the company to raise its capital by PLN 5.6 bln, or 30 percent, by increasing the nominal value of its shares. Analysts said this was a way for the treasury, which holds a 58 percent stake in PGE, to force the company to pay an unexpected income tax, disadvantaging minority shareholders and potentially alarming investors in other state-owned companies, including oil and gas producer PGNIG (WSE: PGN), thermal coal miner BOGDANKA (WSE: LWB) and two gencos ENERGA (WSE: ENG) and ENEA (WSE: ENA). All these companies lost between 1.37% and 1.65%.