BUX Index on the Rise This Week

The Budapest Stock Exchange's (BSE) share index, the BUX, closed the week up 1.44%, or 962.94 points, on last Friday at 68,002.24 points.

Total turnover fell from HUF 67.084 billion to HUF 46.306 billion on a weekly basis, but there were only four trading days due to the May 1 bank holiday. All the leading shares were stronger compared to last Friday's close, MTI reported Sunday morning.

The BSE ended the week on a mixed note, as trading was good before Wednesday's holiday, but the second half of the week was marked by a slight decline. The stock market index initially outperformed the average for Western stock markets, before underperforming on the last trading day of the week. The BUX started the week with a historic high of 67,885.92 points and by the close on Tuesday it had already surpassed the 68,000 level. It turned slightly negative on Thursday, and although there was no significant fall on Friday, the BUX only got back above 68,000 points by the close, having been below 67,900 points just before.

The OTP strengthened during the week on the back of record earnings posted last Friday, only correcting slightly on the last trading day of the week. Investor sentiment was also affected by the fuel price regulation issue, but no central intervention was announced in the end, with the government and traders' positions converging during the week. On Friday, the prime minister also said it was acceptable to set the benchmark for domestic prices at the average of neighboring countries, Equilor Investment Plc. said in its weekly summary.

Magyar Telekom's shares rose the most this week, by 3.01% to HUF 27, closing at HUF 925 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 1.833 billion.

OTP gained 2.12%, HUF 375, to HUF 18,085, with a total turnover of HUF 30,561 million.

Richter shares rose by 1.47%, or HUF 135, to HUF 9335, with a weekly turnover of more than HUF 6.991 billion.

During the week, Mol shares rose by 0.6%, or HUF 18, to HUF 3,022, with total turnover almost reaching HUF 4.43 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed down 0.14% on last Friday, down 8.49 points at 6,007.09.