Sprint to the finish

In an excellent final six weeks of 2016, when the WIG index rose by 9.5 pct and the WIG20 by 10.5 pct, the standing of the Warsaw Stock Exchange was clearly given a boost. Last year was full of surprises, mostly of a political nature, but the largest stock exchanges in the world still managed to end it in the green. In spite of the June panic following the Brexit vote (when the exodus of capital from the global stock exchanges was comparable to that during the credit crunch) and the unexpected victory of Donald Trump, the Dow Jones gained 12 pct, the S&P 500 8.5 pct and no significant adjustments are expected. Of course, Trump’s presidency still looms on the horizon and a possible increase in interest rates (reducing the attractiveness of stock exchanges), but the US economic situation still doesn’t look so bad. In spite of the turbulence brought on by the Brexit vote, the negative data for the health of the local banking sector (Deutsche Bank’s problems and the a