The last session of the week on the WSE was marked by a clear decline in the prices of the largest companies. The global cooling of moods, initiated by the American technology sector, spread to European markets. The declines accelerated in the banking sector, and the engines of recent growth, such as shares of Orlen and KGHM, were also among the stocks sold off.
At the close of the session, WIG20 dropped by 1.7%, reaching 3,359.49 points. The broad WIG index followed the same path, losing 1.55%. (124,543.87 points), which almost completely erased the gains made in the first half of the week. A similar scale of decline was recorded by mWIG40 (-1.45%), to 8,887.35 points, and only the segment of the smallest companies showed relative resistance – sWIG80 fell by a modest 0.36%. up to 31,499 points The turnover on the broad market was estimated at PLN 2.54 billion, of which PLN 2.05 billion concerned WIG20 companies.
It is worth noting that the trading floor in Warsaw performed relatively worse than Friday's quotations on the largest base exchanges. At the end of trading in Warsaw, the DAX was gaining by 0.2%, and the FTSE100 was also positive (0.3%). However, the indexes in Madrid, Milan and Paris fell. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq lost the most (-0.4%), but the S&P500 and DJI were quoted within the reference limits. The US stock market could have been supported by the inflation reading for January, which, in the opinion of commentators, predicted a rate cut in March.
According to the expert, Wall Street casts a shadow over Europe
The reasons for the sudden deterioration in mood can be found overseas. American indices, led by the S&P500 and Nasdaq, have been struggling to break new highs for several sessions, and the recent sell-off in the software sector became a catalyst for declines on the Old Continent.
“Our trading floor has turned red, following the American stock exchanges, where the situation has been a bit worse for several sessions. American indices, especially the S&P500 and Nasdaq, are having problems with setting new maximums,” Przemysław Smoliński, an analyst at BM PKO BP, told PAP Biznes.
“On the other hand, at the moment there are no clear signals of declines. We are still in upward trends, and in the long term there is no major threat to further increases,” he added.
The expert noted that although Poland does not have companies strictly from the AI segment, the supply has had a ricochet effect on the domestic software sector. Maintaining the WIG20 index near the support level of 3,310 points will be crucial for the further fate of the bull market. Breaking it could confirm the beginning of a stronger short-term correction. According to him, the next support level is around 3,200 points.
“A fall below the first of these levels would confirm the beginning of a short-term correction, while breaking the latter would show that these declines are of a medium-term nature,” he said.
Banks are the weakest link
Banks were the biggest burden on the indices on Friday. The WIG Banki sector index increased by 3.31%, becoming the weakest point of the market. The sale affected all key companies in the sector, such as: mBank (-4.75%), Alior (-3.98%), PKO (-2.89%), Pekao (-3.35%) and Santander (-3.14%). Banks in lower segments also declined. In mWIG40, Millennium lost 4.91 percent, BNP Paribas was devalued by 4 percent, Handlowy by 2.69 percent, and ING by 2.99 percent.
The preliminary inflation data from the Central Statistical Office did not improve the mood in the financial sector. Prices increased by 2.2% in January. y/y, with the consensus at 1.9%. Despite the higher reading, this result is below the NBP target, and the market is still pricing in the March interest rate cut by the Monetary Policy Council, which may put pressure on banks' interest margins.
With the largest banks falling on such a scale, it was difficult to look for a counterweight on the WSE on Friday. Recently, these were the shares of Orlen and KGHM, but on Friday they were depreciated by 1.92%, respectively. and 1.55 percent deciding on the supply advantage in WIG20.
In total, as many as 16 stocks fell in the index of the largest companies. Only the share prices of Dino (3.54%), Pepco (1.51%), LPP (0.63%) and Budimex (0.45%) were in green.
The referendum gives JSW some breathing space
JSW (1.49%) was in the center of investors' attention. The company announced the results of the employee referendum, in which the staff voted for the suspension of some benefits. This move is expected to bring the mining giant approximately PLN 1.2 billion in savings in 2026–2027 and open the way to obtaining external financing. Despite the positive news, the price eventually slowed down after initial increases, which analysts attribute to the general pessimism prevailing on the broader market.
A wide market occupied by broadcasts and satellites
DataWalk shares shined on the broad market (5.36%) after the issue price of new shares was set at PLN 155. The company successfully raised over PLN 116 million from investors. Moreover, Creotech Instruments (6.24%) announced a strategic partnership with the European operator Eutelsat in the implementation of satellite communications programs with a total budget exceeding EUR 10 billion.
