BUX Index Up on Rising Turnover This Week

The stock index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) rose on the week, closing at 56,338.50 points on Friday, up 0.73% to 408.81 points from a week earlier, MTI reported this Sunday morning, along a brief analysis of the week’s trading.

The stock market's weekly turnover was HUF 47.32 billion, up from HUF 39.33 billion the previous week, with leading stocks performing mixed this week.

Monday's rise in the BUX was mainly driven by Mol and OTP. Mol closed significantly better than European oil companies, while OTP was helped by a good performance from the banking sector.

On Tuesday, the impact of the international sentiment was not significant, with the BUX rising 1.28%, helped by a more than 3% gain in Mol.

In its weekly summary, Equilor Investment Plc. recalled that Mol announced on Tuesday that it could save up to USD 400-450 million from the amount of mining royalties it will have to pay between September this year and the end of 2024, after it signed a deal with the Hungarian state that sets minimum production levels for 2023 and 2024, and as long as Mol meets this, it will have to pay a reduced mining royalty.

    On Wednesday, the leading shares were stronger compared to the previous day's close, with the exception of Mol, whose price corrected after a sharp rise the previous day. Despite the negative international sentiment, the BUX index outperformed in a European comparison. On international markets, the conflict in Gaza and its possible escalation was the main cause of pessimism. Geopolitical tensions caused oil prices to rise, US and global bond yields to rise and equity markets to fall.

    On Thursday, all leading stocks lost ground from the previous day's close, sentiment in equity markets was negative in Europe and the region, with mixed flash reports from the US.

    Friday was an uneventful day on the Hungarian stock market, with the BUX index barely falling, which was surprising given the geopolitical tensions and the conflict in Gaza, which caused poor international investor sentiment, with both US and European markets falling sharply. Hungarian stocks outperformed their international peers, with OTP outperforming European bank stocks even with a 0.97% decline.

Magyar Telekom's share price fell 2.56% this week, ending the week at HUF 570 on Friday, with weekly turnover exceeding HUF 2.5 billion.

Richter rose 1.72% this week, closing at HUF 8,850 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 8.89 billion.   

Mol gained 3.57% this week, closing at HUF 2,900 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 12 billion.   

OTP fell 1.67% over the week, closing at HUF 13 220 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 19.74 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 4,917.12 points, up 1.23% on the previous week, or 59.88 points.