BUX Index Rose on Falling Turnover This Week

The stock index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE), the BUX, closed the week up 1.88% or 815.64 points at 44,100.87 points, MTI reported Sunday morning along with a brief analysis of the week’s trading.

Total turnover fell from HUF 28.879 billion the previous week to HUF 21.09 billion, with the leading shares gaining on last Friday's close.

The BUX index started the week with a significant rise thanks to the positive international sentiment, although Zoltán Varga, an analyst at Equilor Investment Plc. said that the previous week's sell-off had led to some uncertainty about the outlook for leading stocks. By Tuesday, the rise had moderated, and by Wednesday's close, the stock index had already fallen, with all leading issuers closing lower. Trading picked up again in the second half of the week, with the BUX correcting higher on Thursday and rising sharply again on Friday.

The Equilor analyst explained Wednesday's downturn by the news of the interest rate corridor tightening, triggering a wave of selling on the BSE. If the monetary council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) decides to do so next Tuesday, lending rates could fall, he added.

Richter was the biggest gainer among the leading stocks, closing the week up 3.69% at HUF 8,005, with total turnover exceeding HUF 7.2 billion.

Magyar Telekom rose 3.68% to close the week at HUF 423, with a weekly turnover of HUF 690 million.

OTP's share price rose by 2.03% to HUF 10,030, with a turnover of HUF 8.315 billion.

Mol gained 0.37% compared to the previous Friday, closing the week at HUF 2,708 with a turnover of HUF 4.256 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares fell by 0.5% to 17.33 points, closing Friday at 3,453.36 points.