SERBIA:

NBS: Serbia's economy to expand by 3.5% annually in 2018, 2019, NBS says
Serbia's economy will grow by around 3.5% in 2018 and as much in 2019, the governor of the country's central bank said on Wednesday. Growth will be backed by economic policy measures, Jorgovanka Tabakovic is quoted saying in a statemеnt issued by the central bank. She noted that investments are expected to be strong over the next two years, as an improving business environment and projects in infrastructure will boost economic growth. Easing monetary policy will be another favourable factor, Tabakovic commented.
Source: NBS, Seenews

NBS: Serbia's c-bank says inflation to remain within target
Serbia's central bank said on Wednesday it expects Serbia's inflation to stay on target at about 3% over the next two years, with a possible deviation of 1.5% in either direction. In conditions of low inflationary pressure and based on other both domestic and international factors, inflation will move closer to the lower limit or 1.5% in 2018, the central bank said in a publication. In the medium term, however, a gradual recovery of domestic demand should influence moderate inflation growth and its continued movement within the target band, the central bank noted.
Source: Seenews, NBS

AERO: Serbian state to undertake limited closed share issue
Serbia is about to undertake limited share issue at Belgrade Airport (AERO), in order to boost the company’s capital with non-cash items. Namely, state owned land near Belgrade Airport is about to be transferred into the company and this is the major reason for additional shares. The company is about to issue 120,521 of new shares which will be state owned. Minorities are not considered. Overall, this will result only in a minor hike in overall state ownership at the company (83.2% vs. earlier 83.1%). This should be all approved at incoming EGM, scheduled for 9th March 2018.
Source: Belex, Ilirika

Belex closed due to state holiday
Belgrade stock Exchange will be closed today and yesterday due to state holiday – Serbian state day.

REGION:

SBITOP gained 0.26 percent
SBITOP gained 0.26 percent yesterady and reached 813.53 points. The most tradet stock wwere stocks of Telekom Slovenije (+0.23%) and Zavarovalnica triglav (2.33%), the latter one being the biggest gainer in market value of the day. Gains of Zavarovalnica Triglav were folowed by SavaRe (+1.19%), Intereuropa(+1%) and Luka Koper (0,64%). The stosks that lost the most were the stocks of Krka (-0.69%) and the stocks that lost the most outside of SBITOP index were the stocks of Mercator (-10%).
Source: Ilirika

Bank profits up by a quarter in Slovenia
Last year, banks in Slovenia generated EUR 411 million in pre-tax profits, an increase of 21 percent over the year before. Profit after taxes increased by 27.1 percent to EUR 422.6 million. At the system level, banks released net impairments and provisions last year, totaling EUR 40 million.
Source: Ilirika

Gorenjska banka generated EUR 15.6 million of profit
Gorenjska banka generated EUR 15.6 million of profit from regular operations last year, formed 5.5 million impairments and provisions and reached 10.1 million in pre-tax profits. The achieved results are noticeably above the planned ones and exceed those in 2016, they reported from the bank, which had a net profit of 6.5 million euros.
Source: Ilirika, Gorenjska banka

INO:

Dow surges 253 points, posts 4-day winning streak, Europe in green as well
Stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, notching a four-day winning streak as banks and tech carried major indexes higher. They rose despite a jump in bond yields. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 253.04 points higher at 24,893, up 1%. Goldman Sachs contributed the most to the gains, rising 2.8 percent. The 30-stock index also erased all of its 2018 losses and posted its longest winning streak since Jan. 5.
The S&P 500 gained 1.3 percent to 2,698.63, with financials and tech each rising more than 1.5 percent. Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley all traded higher. The financials sector had its best day since Nov. 28. The index also turned positive for 2018. The Nasdaq composite advanced 1.9 percent to close at 7,143.62, as shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet rose.
Initally, U.S. equities opened lower on the back of stronger-than-expected inflation data. The consumer price index rose 0.5 percent in January. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 0.3 percent. Investors also digested weaker-than-expected retail sales for last month.
European stocks were near session highs at Wednesday's close, as investors shrugged off concerns surrounding U.S. inflation data and cheered on positive corporate news. The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished up 1.07 percent provisionally, recovering from a sharp dip in afternoon trade. Turbulence in the region came after the much-anticipated release of the U.S. inflation data, which came in above expectations.
Looking at individual stocks, Credit Suisse reported a net loss of 983 million Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) for 2017 on Wednesday as U.S. tax write-downs resulted in a third consecutive annual loss. However, the latest figures from Switzerland's second-largest bank were slightly better than analysts had expected. Shares jumped 3.8 percent.
Coca-Cola HBC rose 4.8 percent, making it a top performer, after reporting full-year sales and profits that came in above market estimates.
France's Credit Agricole posted a 33 percent jump in profits for the final three months of 2017, as its investment banking unit outperformed in challenging market conditions. Its shares slipped almost 3 percent by the close.
Swedish retailer H&M sank over 4 percent after the company reported that e-commerce sales were expected to rise by at least 25 percent in 2018, but sales in stores were likely to fall, before bouncing back in 2019.
German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp increased its operating profit to 444 million euros thanks to higher steel prices in the last three months of 2017. Inside the group, the best results were recorded by the lift unit, the report on the business is summarized by the German press agency dpa.
From the macro side, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.6% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 during the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat. In the third quarter of 2017 , GDP grew by 0.7 % in both zones . Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 2.7 % in the euro area and by 2.6 % in the EU28 in 4Q17.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika