BUX Index Rose This Week on Rising Turnover

The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) share index rose this week, with the BUX closing at 39,603.36 points on Friday, up 65.73 points or 0.17% on the previous week, the state news agency MTI reported this Sunday morning along with a brief analysis.

Weekly turnover on the stock market was HUF 31.11 billion, up from HUF 30.34 billion the previous week, with leading shares performing mixed.

In its weekly summary sent to MTI, Equilor Investment Plc. highlighted that international investor sentiment improved significantly in Friday trading. The forint strengthened on Friday after Hungarian National Bank (MNB) Deputy Governor Barnabás Virág announced new measures on Friday morning.

It was recalled that earlier this week, the oil company Mol won a lawsuit in Switzerland, with the Swiss Supreme Court rejecting Croatia's request for a review and awarding CHF 250,000 in Mol's favor. 

It was also recalled that OTP's share price had received a target price cut, with analysts at Morgan Stanley lowering their previous target price of HUF 9,050 to HUF 8,800, and they continue to recommend the stock at equal weighting.

In economic news of the week, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he sees single-digit inflation within reach by the end of 2023. Finance Minister Mihály Varga said on Tuesday that the budget deficit could be lower than expected this year, and that a deficit of 3.5% is planned for next year at most. Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy said there will be no recession next year, telling ATV's news that modest growth is expected in 2023, and there will be no recession in the Hungarian economy.

This week, Mol's share price fell 4.67% on HUF 6.1 billion, the paper ended trading at HUF 2,450 on Friday.

Richter gained 1.53%, closing at HUF 7,980 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 7.2 billion.

OTP's share price gained 3.68% to HUF 8,458 this week, with a turnover of more than HUF 16.5 billion.

Magyar Telekom's share price fell by 2.92% this week, closing at HUF 283 on Friday, with a turnover of HUF 427 million.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 3,548.25 points, down 43.03 points or 1.2% on the previous week.