SERBIA:

NIIS: NIS reported RSD 27bn in FY 2017 net profit, up 80% y/y
NIS (NIIS), integrated oil&gas company, reported RSD 27bn in its FY 2017 net profit, up 80% y/y, which is in line with expectations. At the same time, the company’s EBITDA arrived at RSD 47bn up 18% y/y. Improved financial performances emerged on the back of higher crude oil price, higher processing volume, FX gains and implemented cost control measures. The company’s sales in the period arrived at RSD 234.7bn, up 22% y/y, while OCF was up 43% y/y to RSD 59bn. The result opens the room for higher cash dividend in this year, probably in the amount of RSD 41 per share, which now gives solid 5.8% gross yield.
Source: NIIS, Ilirika

Dialogue between Belgrade authorities and IMF on future goals to begin in mid-March
The dialogue between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the authorities in Belgrade on the aims and priorities for the next several years should begin in mid-March, James Roaf, Head of the IMF Mission for Serbia, announced and added that, after the successful three-year program with the financial institution, Serbia needed to turn to new challenges. Commenting on the results of Serbia's program with the IMF, which ended on February 22, he pointed out that financial discipline had been maintained throughout the program, that the budget deficit of nearly 7% of the GDP from 2014 had been turned into a surplus of 1%, along with a much earlier and quicker than expected reduction of the public debt.
Source: Ekapija

German carmaking giant to make big investment in Serbia?
There will be large-scale new employment in central Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic has told Happy TV. Vucic in this way commented on his previous statement, when he announced the arrival of a big German investor to Serbia. The announcement that a German carmaking giant would invest in Serbia has become major news in the region, accompanied by guesswork on social networks and in the media about which Serbian town might "hit the jackpot." Vucic previously said that he "cannot talk about it, because that's what's been agreed with the investor" - and that he would be happy to announce the news "once everything is completely clear."
Source: b92

REGION:

SBITOP moved down by 0.82 percent
At very low levels of trade the SBITOP index lost 0.82 percent yesterday. Stocks that moved the index down the most were stocks of Krka (-2.96%) and Zavarovalnica Triglav (-1.57%), while Luka Koper (0.98%) gained the most.
Source: Ilirika

GDP up by 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 and by 5.0 percent in 2017
In the fourth quarter of 2017 gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 6.0 percent over the fourth quarter of 2016. According to the first estimate, in 2017 GDP increased by 5.0 percent.
Source: Ilirika

INO:

Dow closes more than 400 points lower after Trump says steel and aluminum tariffs comingEurope finishes deep in the red amid mixed earnings
Stocks fell on Thursday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports next week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 431 points lower after rising more than 150 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 declined 1.4%, while Nasdaq composite fell 1.3%.
Shares of Ford Motor dropped 3 percent and General Motors fell nearly 4 percent. Boeing, Cummins, Johnson Controls and United Technologies — other users of steel and aluminum — also helped lead the market lower. Steel stocks like U.S. Steel and AK Steel posted strong gains.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.2 percent in January, while personal income rose 0.4 percent. The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, meanwhile, advanced 1.5 percent on an annualized basis, in line with expectations.
European equities closed Thursday's session sharply lower, as investors reacted to fresh news coming out of the corporate and central banking space. The pan-European STOXX 600 provisionally tumbled 1.37 percent by the close, with every sector posting sharp losses.
In corporate news, France's Carrefour, issued cautious outlook for this year, with the retailer's shares dropping 6 percent after it posted earnings that failed to match market expectations.
Sticking with earnings, Peugeot popped 4.5 percent after the company saw net profit increasing in 2017, despite a loss in its Opel unit. AB InBev saw shares rise more than 2 percent after reporting a higher than expected profit in the fourth quarter.
The European Commission on Thursday approved the 48-billion-euro ($58.49 billion) merger of eyewear groups Luxottica (LUX.MI) and Essilor (ESSI.PA) without setting conditions, saying the merger would not harm competition.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika