Stock market

The main reasons for the poor situation on the stock exchange were unfavourable tendencies observed in the financial sector and the raw materials and power sector.

The year 2014 was a good year from the perspective of the Polish economy, which, however, did not translate into the stock market. The WIG index increased by a token 0.3% in spite of companies’ profits going up by 12-13% (the final data for 2014 has not been published yet). The main reasons for the poor situation on the stock exchange were unfavourable tendencies observed in the financial sector (low interest rates, regulatory changes, announced higher annual fee to the Bank Guarantee Fund (BFG)) and the raw materials and power sector (low prices of coal, copper and electric energy, uncertainty as to the shape of the consolidation of the sector), which make up nearly 2/3 of the index.

The situation on the Warsaw Stock Exchange was also affected by the fact that the previous year was a fairy difficult for the emerging markets. In January, the U.S. central bank began discontinuing the asset purchase programme, which increased concern about the availability and cost of financing on the international markets, on which most developing countries are dependent to. China experienced a slow-down, trying to reform its economy due to poor external demand. The escalation of the conflict in Ukraine was a negative surprise. A rapid drop in oil prices, to the advantage of oil importing countries (i.a. Poland), was a very significant factor.