Market comment

Обзоры рынка 05.03.2013 Rising unemployment in Europe, along with automatic spending cuts in the U.S., sent Ukrainian equities plummeting at the Friday, March 1 trading session. In Warsaw, the WIG-Ukraine Index dropped 3.3%, deepening the week’s loss to 4.9%. The Index’s biggest decliner was KSG Agro (KSG PW -5.7%), which plunged 13.2% during the week. Sugar maker Astarta (AST PW -4.5%) was down 9.3% in two sessions after reporting disappointing preliminary 2012 earnings, while shares of grain trader Kernel (KER PW -3.8%) have lost 8.4% in six straight losing sessions. In London, Cadogan Petroleum (CAD LN +3.7%) gained 8.7% for the week, while shares of Ferrexpo (FXPO LN -1.7%) lost 7.3% during the week. In Kyiv, the Ukrainian Exchange (UX) Index was unaffected by the negative sentiment, improving 0.3% on Friday, or 0.4% for the week. The Index’s standout was Raiffeisen Bank Aval (BAVL UK +3.4%).