BUX Index Rose on Falling Turnover This Week

The Budapest Stock Exchange's (BSE) share index rose this week amid falling turnover, closing at 56,856.01 points on Friday, up 1,351.03 points or 2.43% from a week earlier, MTI reported Sunday morning along with a brief analysis of the week’s trading.

The weekly turnover on the stock market was HUF 41.92 billion, up from HUF 52.86 billion the previous week, with all leading stocks except Magyar Telekom rising this week, and Richter reaching a historic high of HUF 9,435 on Friday.

By the end of trading on Monday, sentiment on international stock markets had deteriorated, which also affected the Hungarian stock market. The BUX, however, managed to close in positive territory, performing well in the region and slightly outperforming the leading European stock markets.

On Tuesday, the BUX index was pulled up by the rise of Mol, which slightly outperformed the European markets with a gain of 0.11%. Mol's good performance at the time was partly explained by the continued rise in oil prices.

On Wednesday, the BSE performed well in an international comparison, with the major Western stock markets closing lower. Unusually, the Hungarian stock market was not driven by the leading shares, but by smaller ones, especially 4iG, which was highlighted by an analysis by a US investment firm.

On Thursday, European stock market indices were very volatile, but the picture in Budapest was positive. The negative pan-European sentiment, which was triggered by weaker than expected Eurozone GDP data, had no impact on trading.

By Friday afternoon, buyers had arrived on the Hungarian stock market, with the BUX rising. Richter was the best performer, reaching an all-time high.

OTP received a target increase this week. JP Morgan raised its 12-month target price on OTP Bank from HUF 14,900 to HUF 17,800, with the recommendation remaining an overweight, Equilor said in a note.

Richter's share price rose 4.8% this week, ending Friday's trading at HUF 9395, with a weekly turnover of more than HUF 7.48 billion.

Mol rose by 0.23% this week, closing Friday at HUF 2,668, with a weekly turnover of HUF 5.3 billion.

OTP's share price rose by 2.65% this week, closing at HUF 14,340 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 19 billion.

Magyar Telekom fell 2.81% this week, closing at HUF 450 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 395.7 million.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 4,729.51 points, up 138.30 points or 3.01% on the previous week.