SERBIA:

MTLC: Metalac announced buyback intention
Kitchenware manufacturer Metalac (MTLC) reported that it will start own shares buyback operation, since the company’s management finds the current stock price does not correspond with its fair value. The company is about to inform buyback price and quantity in proper time. The stock price is down 6.8% since November 2017.
Source: Belex, Ilirika

Moody's says Serbia's credit profile balances diversified economy, stronger fiscal metrics against large contingent liabilities
Moody's Investors Service said it expects Serbia's economic growth to accelerate to 3.0% in 2018 and 3.5% in 2019, supported by private consumption, as private sector employment expands. The Serbian economy's growth structure is now more balanced than before the financial crisis, having seen a strong shift towards export-driven growth in recent years, Moody's said in a new annual report on the country.
Source: Moody, SeeNews

Bloomberg: Serbian dinar second best performing currency in the world
Serbian dinar is the second best performing currency in the world in the last 12 months which is, among other things, contributed to the fact that last month Serbian currency recorded the highest appreciation against euro in three years – Bloomberg reports. Bloomberg also says that “Serbia is going against the tide of a gradual shift toward policy tightening across most of Europe since it has little need for rate hikes any time soon, with inflation slowing to the bottom of the central bank’s target range in February and continued appreciation in the dinar”. Serbia’s 10-year notes still offer a yield of 5.88 percent, more than double the rate on Hungarian and Czech securities. This is one of few nations in eastern Europe that still offers a positive real yield on short-term investments, the report says.
Source: Bloomberg, Serbiamonitor

REGION:

SBITOP lost 0.23% on Friday
SBITOP faced light 0.23% downwards correction on Friday, moving lower to 823.1pts. The most traded stock was pharmaceutical company Krka, with EUR 457ths in volume, while its stock price was down 0.7%. This was also among top daily losers, while Triglav was number one looser with 1.25% drop. Major gainers were Gorenje and Intereuropa with 1.38% and 0.51% jumps, respectively.
Source: Ilirika

INO:

Stocks fall for the week on rising trade tensions, Europe closes higher amid political, trade concerns
A slight gain on Friday was not enough to stop stocks from posting a loss this week, weighed down by fears of a possible trade war and White House turmoil.
The S&P 500 notched a 1.2 percent loss for the week, despite a 0.2 percent gain on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average also fell 1.5 percent on the week as shares of Boeing dropped 6.8 percent on the trade tensions. The Nasdaq composite closed flat at 7,481.99 amid a 1.4 percent decline in Google-parent Alphabet and a 0.7 percent fall in Amazon shares. The index also fell 1 percent for the week.
In corporate news, Adobe Systems reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, sending its stock up 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, Walmart responded to accusations of issuing misleading e-commerce results, calling the person a "disgruntled former associate." Walmart shares rose 1.9 percent.
In macro news, the Commerce Department said housing starts declined 7 percent in February, a bigger-than-expected fall. Building permits, meanwhile, fell 7.7 percent last month. Elsewhere, consumer sentiment rose to a level not seen since 2004 in March, according to a preliminary reading from the University of Michigan.
European stocks finished Friday's session in the black, as investors tried to shake off concerns surrounding trade and political disruption in the White House. The pan-European STOXX 600 provisionally ended 0.22 percent higher, with sectors pointing in different directions by the market close. On the week, the STOXX 600 finished slightly under pressure, closing down 0.14 percent.
Oil and gas was the strongest performing industry, with the sector closing up 1.46 percent on the back of a sharp rise in oil prices. At the market close, Brent traded at $65.93, while U.S. crude hovered around $62.17. In the sector, OMV rose over 4 percent after announcing Thursday that it had acquired Shell's upstream assets in New Zealand.
Chemicals group Linde slipped 3.5 percent after it announced Thursday that the European Commission had suspended its review of the company's merger with Praxair, while it awaits details. The sector slipped 0.62 percent, making it the worst performing industry.
In economic news, euro zone consumer prices grew less than expected in February. The bloc of 19 countries sharing the single currency saw inflation at 0.2 percent month-on-month and 1.1 percent year-on-year, according to data published by Eurostat.
Source: CNBC, Ilirka