BUX Index Up over 1% This Week

Amid rising trading volume, the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) stock index, the BUX, rose this week, closing at 137,625.54 points on Friday – up 1.40%, or 1,900.86 points, from the previous week’s closing level.

Weekly trading volume on the stock market was HUF 155.1 billion, up from HUF 101.9 billion the previous week; leading stocks posted mixed results this week, with the entire week’s trading marked by the positive sentiment sparked by news of the agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Zoltán Varga, senior analyst at Equilor Investment Ltd., highlighted in his weekly summary that Mol and the Serbian government signed a shareholder agreement regarding the management of NIS. If Mol successfully becomes the majority owner, it will ensure the company’s development, the supply of the Serbian market, and the operation of the Pancevo refinery. In addition to the purchase agreement, further regulatory approvals are required to close the transaction.
The analyst also noted that Mol has signed a production-sharing agreement for offshore exploration in Libya. Exploration will take place in Block O7 – located approximately 140 kilometers from Benghazi and covering nearly 10,300 square kilometers – at water depths exceeding 1,500 meters; this will include seismic surveys and an exploratory well.

A target price of HUF 56,000 was set for OTP. Roemer Capital has begun covering OTP shares; the HUF 56,000 target price is the highest to date, and the firm issued a buy recommendation. The analyst discussed Opus’s flash report, noting that the company reported consolidated operating revenue of HUF 103.8 billion in the first quarter, down 13.8% from HUF 120.5 billion a year earlier, primarily due to unfavorable trends in energy and raw material prices, as well as a significant decline in revenue in the construction segment.

EBITDA fell to HUF 25.7 billion from HUF 33.9 billion in the base period, a 24.3% decrease, while EBIT dropped to HUF 14.5 billion from HUF 23.2 billion in the first quarter of last year, a 37.6% decline. Net income, on the other hand, came in at HUF 14.4 billion, which is 9.2% higher than the base figure from last year, thanks to gains from financial operations.

Among the leading stocks this week, OTP’s share price rose the most, by 3.51% to HUF 43,980, with weekly trading volume reaching nearly HUF 109 billion.
Magyar Telekom closed at HUF 2,754 on Friday, up 0.88%, with weekly trading volume exceeding HUF 11.5 billion.
Mol’s share price fell 0.94% compared to last Friday’s close, ending the week at HUF 3,790, with trading volume of HUF 21.8 billion.
Among the leading stocks, Richter’s share price fell the most this week, by 1.68%, closing at HUF 11,730 on Friday, with weekly trading volume totaling HUF 9.8 billion.

The BUMIX index, which tracks small- and mid-cap stocks, rose 0.45% to close the week at 9,304.58 points.