BUX Index Rose on Rising Turnover This Week

The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) stock index rose in the week, closing at 45,804.29 points on Friday, up 88.96 points, or 0.19%, from a week earlier, the state news agency MTI reported along with a brief analysis of the week.

The weekly turnover of the stock market was HUF 71.297 billion, compared to HUF 51.203 billion the previous week, with leading stocks performing mixed.

Equilor Investment Plc. said in a summary sent to MTI that the BUX closed the week with a minimal rise, because although the index was still strengthening until midweek, it fell 1.22% on Friday compared to the previous day as international investor sentiment turned gloomier. 

It was also noted that Mol's Danube Refinery is still not back to full capacity. The overhaul was scheduled to be completed on the second of December, but a technical problem during a pressure test delayed the refinery's return to full production capacity by at least three days, from the current 55-60%. 

Mol said this week that it had successfully closed its deal with PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, buying more than 410 filling stations in Poland. Together with the filling stations currently operating under the Slovnaft Polska brand, the Mol group will provide retail services at almost 500 filling stations in Poland.  As part of the transactions, Mol will sell 143 service stations in Hungary and 39 in Slovakia, which are expected to be transferred to Orlen Unipetrol in several stages: 79 service stations in Hungary at closing the deal, the stations in Slovakia by the end of the first half of 2023 and the remaining stations in Hungary by the end of the first half of 2024. At the same time, Mol has also closed the acquisition of Normbenz Hungary Kft., which has 79 service stations in Hungary.

Mol was the strongest performer this week, gaining 2.75% on a turnover of more than HUF 11.59 billion, with the paper ending trading at HUF 2,844 on Friday.

Richter's share price rose 1.62% on turnover of HUF 20.46 billion, closing Friday at HUF 8,450.

Magyar Telekom's share price fell 1.37% to close the week at HUF 325, with a turnover of HUF 559.87 million.

OTP's share price fell by 1.9% this week, closing at HUF 10,595 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of more than HUF 36.69 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 3,666.77 points, down 33.15 points or 0.90% on the previous week.