Prague bourse hits record, driven by CEZ

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The blue-chip PX index gained as much as 1.8 percent to 1,944.3 in afternoon trade, before slipping to 1,938.4 at 1340 GMT.

The previous intraday high had been 1,915.8 points, recorded on July 9.

The Prague bourse has gained ground this year on strong economic growth, and mainly thanks to CEZ, which has benefited from a surge in power prices in central Europe and a share buyback.

"CEZ is pulling the whole market up, given the high oil prices and energy prices in Europe," said one Prague trader.

The government has also halted selling CEZ shares through the capital market in the past days. The government has agreed to sell a 7 percent stake on the market, but so far has sold just 1 percent.

CEZ reached a new record of 1,386 crowns on Monday, trading up 2.76 percent at 1,380 at 1343 GMT.

CEZ, by far the biggest Czech stock, with market capitalisation of $43.6 billion, has gained 44 percent this year, versus 22 percent for the PX index.

Other emerging markets also gained ground on Monday, with the Morgan Stanley index up 2.13 percent at 1343 GMT.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]