CEE MARKETS-Hungarian forint and Czech crown edge up on better sentiment

By Karol Badohal WARSAW, March 17 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint and Czech crown firmed on Friday as investors showed moderate optimism at the end of a tumultuous week with a brewing banking crisis at its forefront. Central European currencies softened earlier in the week as investors dumped riskier assets due to fears over the health of the global banking sector, but sentiment has been buttressed by the Swiss National Bank's massive support for the troubled Credit Suisse Group AG and large U.S. banks swooping in to rescue First Republic Bank . The Hungarian forint gained 0.47% against the euro. "Improving investor sentiment is the reason for the correction in the forint, as the weakening in recent days was not driven by fundamentals, with investors selling riskier assets," Equilor senior analyst Zoltan Varga said. "It is too early to predict how long the easing will last, and I expect higher than usual volatility in the forint in the coming weeks," he added. He put technical supports for the euro-forint at 389 and 393, with a strong resistance level in the 399-400 range. The Czech crown was 0.27% firmer, however the Polish zloty slid 0.10%. "What should be noted, if anything, is that the zloty was surprisingly strong in over the past few days and part of this strength is reversing, without a particular reason," Bank Pekao economist Piotr Bartkiewicz said. Stocks were firmer across the region with blue-chip indices in Prague, Budapest and Warsaw rising 0.64-1.96% as fears over the banking sector receded.

CEE SNAPSHO AT

MARKETS T 1158

CET

CURRENC

IES

Latest Previou Daily Change s

bid close change in 2023 Czech <EURCZK= 23.9580 24.0230 +0.27% +0.83% crown >
Hungary <EURHUF= 395.550 397.400 +0.47% +0.98% forint > 0 0
Polish <EURPLN= 4.7060 4.7015 -0.10% -0.35% zloty >
Romanian <EURRON= 4.9200 4.9200 +0.00% +0.46% leu >
Croatian <EURHRK= 7.5330 7.5365 +0.05% +0.05% kuna >
Serbian <EURRSD= 117.200 117.325 +0.11% +0.09% dinar > 0 0
Note: calculated from 1800
daily CET
change

Latest Previou Daily Change s

close change in 2023 Prague 1326.99 1318.54 +0.64% +10.42 00 % Budapest 41655.5 40852.8 +1.96% -4.88% 2 9
Warsaw 1719.32 1706.55 +0.75% -4.06% Buchares 12265.3 12190.8 +0.61% +5.16% t 4 2
Ljubljan <.SBITOP 1184.32 1176.72 +0.65% +12.92 a > % Zagreb 2227.04 2225.44 +0.07% +747.5 2% Belgrade <.BELEX1 897.23 897.31 -0.01% +8.81% 5>
Sofia 621.46 624.38 -0.47% +3.32%

Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic
2-year <CZ2YT=R 5.5000 0.0270 +288bp -3bps R> s
5-year <CZ5YT=R 4.8300 0.0000 +253bp -3bps R> s

<CZ10YT= 4.5590 0.0650 +232bp +6bps 10-year RR> s
Poland
2-year <PL2YT=R 5.9450 -0.0150 +333bp -7bps R> s
5-year <PL5YT=R 6.0020 0.0970 +370bp +7bps R> s

<PL10YT= 6.1120 0.0890 +387bp +9bps 10-year RR> s

FORWARD

3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech 7.05 6.70 6.14 7.19 Rep <PRIBOR=

>
Hungary 15.05 13.29 12.08 16.31 Poland 6.80 6.56 6.21 6.92 Note: are for ask
FRA prices
quotes

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(Reporting by Karol Badohal and Alan Charlish in Warsaw, Krisztina Than in Budapest; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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