CEE MARKETS-Stocks, currencies fall as rising virus cases weigh

By Anita Komuves

BUDAPEST, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Most Central European stock markets and currencies slid on Friday, as rising coronavirus cases both globally and in the region, with Hungary and the Czech Republic reporting record numbers of new infections, weighed on investor sentiment.

Instead of lockdowns earlier that led to massive economic contractions, governments in the region are tightening mask-wearing rules and curtailing opening hours of bars and restaurants.

The Czech Republic reported more than 3,000 cases in a single day on Friday. The country has seen one of the biggest spikes in new coronavirus infections in Europe.

Hungary also reported its highest ever daily tally of 941 infections.

Meanwhile, the crown EURCZK=, under pressure from pandemic worries in recent days, firmed 0.21% and was trading at 26.675 versus the common currency, as it was getting some technical bounce from recent lows hit earlier this week.

The forint EURHUF= slid 0.15% to 360.95 per euro as markets were also eyeing the central bank's rate-setting meeting next Tuesday when it will also publish its next inflation report.

The NBH is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.6%, a Reuters poll of economists said.

"The market could be paying special attention to how the NBH's communication reacts to higher-than-expected inflation data," CIB Bank said in a note.

"The central bank will have to walk a fine line between keeping the credibility of the inflation target, protecting the forint and supporting the economy."

Hungary's central bank announced the details of its first euro/forint foreign exchange swap tender providing euro liquidity on Friday. The measure was announced earlier this month in order to reduce volatility in the domestic forex swap market.

Elsewhere, the Romanian leu EURRON= was little moved and the Polish zloty EURPLN= edged down 0.07% at 4.4555 per euro.

Most stocks in the region were down, with Budapest .BUX leading losses as it weakened 0.57%. Prague .PX lost 0.42% and Warsaw .WIG20 was down 0.22%. Bucharest .BETI bucked the trend and was up 0.27%.

CEE MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 1057 CET CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2020 EURCZK= Czech crown EURCZK= 26.6750 26.7300 +0.21% -4.66% EURHUF= Hungary forint EURHUF= 360.9500 360.4200 -0.15% -8.26% EURPLN= Polish zloty EURPLN= 4.4555 4.4525 -0.07% -4.47% EURRON= Romanian leu EURRON= 4.8595 4.8592 -0.01% -1.47% EURHRK= Croatian kuna EURHRK= 7.5380 7.5413 +0.04% -1.23% EURRSD= Serbian dinar EURRSD= 117.5900 117.5800 -0.01% -0.02% Note: daily change calculated from 1800 CET Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2020 .PX Prague .PX 879.88 883.6300 -0.42% -21.13% .BUX Budapest .BUX 33694.66 33886.79 -0.57% -26.88% .WIG20 Warsaw .WIG20 1741.86 1745.73 -0.22% -18.99% .BETI Bucharest .BETI 9235.59 9210.62 +0.27% -7.43% .SBITOP Ljubljana .SBITOP 842.07 839.82 +0.27% -9.05% .CRBEX Zagreb .CRBEX 1611.71 1610.57 +0.07% -20.11% .BELEX15 Belgrade .BELEX15 683.81 689.21 -0.78% -14.70% .SOFIX Sofia .SOFIX 429.89 429.60 +0.07% -24.33% Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech Republic spread CZ2YT=RR 2-year CZ2YT=RR 0.1660 -0.0440 +086bps -4bps CZ5YT=RR 5-year CZ5YT=RR 0.5840 -0.0670 +128bps -7bps CZ10YT=RR 10-year CZ10YT=RR 0.9620 -0.0620 +145bps -6bps Poland PL2YT=RR 2-year PL2YT=RR 0.0450 -0.0190 +074bps -2bps PL5YT=RR 5-year PL5YT=RR 0.6720 -0.0210 +136bps -2bps PL10YT=RR 10-year PL10YT=RR 1.3640 -0.0070 +185bps -1bps FORWARD 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interbank Czech Rep CZKFRAPRIBOR= 0.35 0.35 0.39 0.34 Hungary HUFFRABUBOR= 0.75 0.79 0.84 0.63 Poland PLNFRAWIBOR= 0.22 0.20 0.20 0.23 Note: FRA quotes are for ask prices ************************************************************** (Additional reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Rashmi Aich) ((komuves.anita@thomsonreuters.com (+36 70 795 8815))

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