publication
2026-02-19 17:15
The disappointing data from the Polish economy on Thursday was also accompanied by misery on the stock exchange floor. However, the share prices of the largest companies listed on the WSE increased and today they jointly reported their results for the fourth quarter.
And only thanks to them, WIG20 managed to end the day in the green, gaining 0.22% and ending Thursday's session at 3,385.33 points. However, the further into the stock exchange forest, the more red there was. The mWIG40, which brings together slightly smaller companies, dropped by 1.05%, while the sWIG80 index of “small” stock exchange companies dropped by 0.68%.
As a result, WIG recorded a decline of 0.11%, falling to 125,275.23 points. All this happened at a standard turnover for recent times, ultimately amounting to PLN 2 billion. Let's also not forget that the main indexes of the Warsaw Stock Exchange are only slightly below the historical peaks set at the beginning of February. And after a very strong January, during which they gained 5-10%.
In terms of the amount and importance of information flowing to the market, it was a very important session. Firstly, economists were severely disappointed by the monthly reports on the Polish economy. January saw a sensational decline in employment in the corporate sector and a sharp slowdown in wage growth. Industry statistics, which showed a decline in industrial production, diverged even further from the market consensus. Construction and assembly production also dropped significantly. Analysts tried to explain all this… by a difficult winter. It's as if they didn't remember what the weather was like last month.
However, the shares of the big three listed on the stock exchange increased in price. As usual, Orlen's financial results, which are not easy to interpret unambiguously, were well received by investors. Shares of the fuel and energy giant rose by over 3%. The price of Pekao SA increased by 1.8%, as the bank boasted a record high net profit for 2025. Let's add to this the 1.3% increase in price of PKO BP shares, which the report for last year is to show after the end of the session.
– Both reports were positively received by investors, and the mentioned companies maintain their positions as growth leaders among Warsaw blue chips. The banking sector's results remain solid, and Pekao is yet another entity that has exceeded investors' expectations in terms of net profit (previously done by, among others, mBank and BNP Paribas) – wrote Arkadiusz Banaś, an analysis expert in the Analysis and Consulting Team of Alior Bank, quoted by PAP Biznes.
These three companies practically single-handedly kept WIG20 below the mark. The shares of Orange Polska increased by almost 3% and were further supported. The worst performers were the securities of LPP, PGE (-2.6%) and Kęt (-1.6%), which decreased by 2.7%.
It is worth noting that the main European trading floors also ended Thursday in red. The German DAX lost 1%, the French CAC and the British FTSE100 fell by approximately 0.6% each, and declines on the stock exchanges in Madrid and Milan exceeded 1%. Globally, stock markets are not helped by the high risk of an American attack on Iran, which in convection would threaten the continuity of oil supplies from the Middle East.
