WSE remained unimpressed following RPP's 1% interest rate trimming

A slight reduction in key interest rates on Wednesday failed to jump-start the bearish Warsaw bourse as concerns over the country's economic slowdown and uncertainty over world exchanges impacted on central Europe's largest market. Investors all but ignored the Monetary Policy Council's 100 basis-point cut in interest rates, reflected in results of the leading blue-chip stock index WIG 20, which fell by 1.4% to end at 1,371.3 points on Thursday. "The rate cut was too small to boost the local stock bourse and it will have no quick impact on the economy. Besides that, sentiment on world bourses still weighs on the market," said Ewa Radkowska, a portfolio manager at ING BSK Asset Management. The exchange rate of the zloty almost reached a record high level from the beginning of March. One dollar was worth zl.4.08 on Thursday, while the price of the euro stood at zl.3.605. Analysts say the strong position of the Polish currency was not the result of disappointment at the interest rate cut, but rather came as the result of a euro 200 million transaction for the purchase of one of Poland's UMTS licenses. Though the RPP has now cut interest rates by 100 basis points for the second month running, domestic rates still remain among the highest in Europe. (Rzeczpospolita p.B5; Reuters) A.D.