BUX Index Rose on Rising Turnover This Week

The stock index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) rose this week, closing at 45,034.79 points on Friday, up 1,051.41 points or 2.39% from a week ago. Turnover was 121.08 billion forints, up from HUF 92.09 billion the previous week, with the leading shares, with the exception of Richter, gaining, the state news agency MTI reported this Sunday morning.

In its weekly summary sent MTI, Equilor Investment Plc. pointed out that international investor sentiment in Europe was slightly positive for most of the day on Friday, which also had an impact on the BSE, with the BUX index closing in positive territory thanks to the rise of OTP Bank and the pharma firm Richter.

Investors have been watching the Russian-Ukrainian talks all week, with the BUX index rising 5.41% on Tuesday on positive news from Ukraine, after Russia's deputy defense minister said that Moscow had decided to reduce its military activity near Kiev. However, on Wednesday and Thursday, the Hungarian market reversed much of the gains made, falling first by 1.75% and then by 2.54%, with the results attributed to a deterioration in international sentiment.

OTP was the strongest performer this week, up 4.57% on a turnover of HUF 80.87 billion, ending the week at HUF 12,235 on Friday.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 4,229.64 points, up 103.05 points, or 2.50%, on the previous week.