* Euro rise on Brexit deal helps CEE currencies, stocks
* Positioning takes the upper hand in forint, crown trade
* Moody's keeps Hungary's rating, outlook unchanged
By Sandor Peto and Robert Muller
BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Central European
currencies and stocks mostly firmed slightly on Monday as
Britain's deal with European Union (EU) leaders on the terms of
its exit from the bloc lifted the pound and the euro.
The currencies in the region, which has tight links with the
euro zone, are often strengthened by capital flows into the euro
and weakened by dollar buying.
Sunday's deal still leaves risks to an ordered exit because
the British parliament could still vote it down, ensuring
Monday's uplift was limited, market participants said.
Position closings ahead of the year-end after a hectic year
are increasingly driving currency movements, they said.
The zloty and leu were a shade firmer
against the euro.
The biggest changes were in the forint and the
Czech crown, which moved in opposite directions,
mostly because of position-closing, dealers said.
The forint eased 0.1 percent to 322.5 against the
euro while the Czech crown extended Friday's gains,
continuing to drift away from four-month lows hit last week.
It reached its strongest level since Nov. 8 and was up 0.2
percent at 25.883 by 1001 GMT.
The Czech currency, in which foreign investors hold huge
positions, fell for much of this month despite four straight
interest rate hikes by the Czech central bank.
But some investors believed its fall past 26 versus the euro
was overdone, one Prague-based dealer said.
"Those who pushed it up (above 26) have lost their appetite
now, so it (EURCZK) will strengthen a bit," the dealer said.
Moody's did not upgrade Hungary's Baa3 credit rating, nor
its stable outlook on Friday despite some expectations that it
could do so.
"That does not count much as investors have been valuing
Hungarian assets better than the rating anyway," said ING
analyst Peter Virovacz in Budapest.
Most of the market had not expected an upgrade, dealers
said.
The slight disappointment left Hungarian government bond
yields near the multi-month lows hit on Friday, with the 10-year
paper trading at 3.32 percent, while Czech and Polish yields
ticked up slightly, tracking Bunds.
The forint buying of recent weeks after a rise in inflation
has probably fizzled out on fading expectations of a shift
towards less loose policy from the central bank in the coming
months, ING's Virovacz said.
"Any change is unlikely before the term of (central bank
governor Gyorgy) Matolcsy ends in March," he said.
CEE SNAPSHOT AT
MARKETS 1101 CET
CURRENCI
ES
Latest Previous Daily Change
bid close change in 2018
Czech <EURCZK= 25.8830 25.9250 +0.16% -1.32%
crown >
Hungary <EURHUF= 322.5000 322.2000 -0.09% -3.59%
forint >
Polish <EURPLN= 4.2893 4.2901 +0.02% -2.63%
zloty >
Romanian <EURRON= 4.6590 4.6599 +0.02% +0.44%
leu >
Croatian <EURHRK= 7.4280 7.4325 +0.06% +0.03%
kuna >
Serbian <EURRSD= 118.2700 118.4200 +0.13% +0.19%
dinar >
Note: calculated from 1800 CET
daily
change
Latest Previous Daily Change
close change in 2018
Prague 1064.14 1062.420 +0.16% -1.30%
0
Budapest 39446.87 39379.78 +0.17% +0.18%
Warsaw 2235.10 2225.39 +0.44% -9.19%
Bucharest 8495.96 8522.78 -0.31% +9.57%
Ljubljana <.SBITOP 818.34 822.42 -0.50% +1.48%
>
Zagreb 1735.98 1729.34 +0.38% -5.80%
Belgrade <.BELEX1 742.82 743.29 -0.06% -2.23%
5>
Sofia 588.23 588.93 -0.12% -13.17%
BONDS
Yield Yield Spread Daily
(bid) change vs Bund change
in
Czech spread
Republic
2-year <CZ2YT=R 1.7480 0.1800 +238bps +18bps
R>
5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.8660 0.0190 +209bps +1bps
R>
10-year <CZ10YT= 2.1040 0.0120 +174bps -1bps
RR>
Poland
2-year <PL2YT=R 1.5980 0.0190 +223bps +2bps
R>
5-year <PL5YT=R 2.4580 0.0330 +268bps +2bps
R>
10-year <PL10YT= 3.1950 0.0400 +284bps +2bps
RR>
FORWARD RATE AGREEMEN
T
3x6 6x9 9x12 3M
interban
k
Czech Rep 2.22 2.33 2.42 2.02
<PRIBOR=
>
Hungary 0.30 0.52 0.83 0.13
Poland 1.76 1.79 1.84 1.72
Note: FRA are for ask prices
quotes
*************************************************
*************
(Reporting by Sandor Peto
Editing by David Goodman)