BUX Index Rose on Rising Turnover This Week

The stock index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) rose this week, closing at 56,912.43 points on Friday, 1.21% higher than a week earlier, MTI reported Sunday morning, along with a brief analysis of the week’s trading.

The weekly turnover of the stock market was HUF 64.75 billion, up from HUF 53.54 billion the previous week, with the leading shares, with the exception of Richter, gaining strength this week.

In its weekly summary sent to MTI, Equilor Investment Plc. said that the BUX index reached another historic record this week, significantly outperforming both Western European and US equity indices. On Thursday, the BUX closed at 57,228.33 points, its highest level ever.

The commentary highlighted that OTP expects a record result this year. CEO Sándor Csányi said in a newspaper interview that net profit could rise to a record high this year, while total assets could reach EUR 100 billion, but the Russian-Ukrainian war and the development of domestic tax policy remain uncertainties. Csányi said the sale of the Romanian subsidiary was still in the pipeline. The company will decide on the extra dividend in March, depending on the potential for new acquisitions.

A target price increase was received on OTP, with Citi raising its 12-month target price on OTP Bank from HUF 13,635 to HUF 16,120, with an unchanged buy recommendation, they added.

Rába reported good results. In the second quarter, the vehicle manufacturer posted sales revenue of HUF 19.7 billion and after-tax earnings per share of HUF 104.6. According to the management, the outlook remains positive, with no signs pointing to a decline in demand. A significant reduction in energy and raw material prices also contributed significantly to the positive results.

According to Morgan Stanley, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) will slow down its interest rate cuts from October. According to the investment bank's analysts, the overnight deposit rate could converge with the base rate in September, and then the MNB could switch to a 50-basis point pace in its rate-cutting cycle from October, Equilor said.

Mol gained 3.54% this week, closing at HUF 2,746 on Friday, with weekly turnover of almost HUF 6.3 billion.

Magyar Telekom's share price rose 2.84% this week, closing at HUF 452.5 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 734.4 million.

OTP rose 1.45% this week, closing at HUF 14,305 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 31.88 billion.

Richter's share price weakened 0.70%, closing Friday at HUF 9165, with a weekly turnover of more than HUF 8.2 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 4768.57 points, down 46.45 points or 0.96% on the previous week.