BUX Rose Amid Growing Trading Volume This Week

The Budapest Stock Exchange (BÉT) share index, BUX, rose 3.01% compared to last Friday, ending the week at a historic high of 128,831.58 points, MTI reports.

Total turnover increased from HUF 124.899 billion to HUF 139.907 billion on a weekly basis, with leading shares strengthening.

The BUX hit new highs on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with Mol and OTP also reaching their highest closing values to date in the first half of the week. Trading was helped by the favorable international mood, but the BSE outperformed Western stock exchanges. The difference can be partly explained by Mol's strengthening, with demand for the oil company's shares still driven by its expansion in Serbia. The stock market momentum slowed in the middle of the week as investors across Europe became more cautious ahead of the publication of last year's final flash reports by a number of major technology companies. The BUX also fell on Thursday as a result of the sell-off that started on the US stock markets. The downturn was not lasting, and the stock market index rose to a new high on Friday, but the leading issuers did not set new price records at that time.

Equilor Investment Ltd. highlighted two important price increases for OTP among the events of the week. Citi raised its target price for the bank's shares from HUF 36,500 to HUF 43,900, while HSBC raised its target price from HUF 37,500 to HUF 46,550, with a buy recommendation. On Friday, the European Medicines Agency issued a favorable opinion on one of Richter's products. This means that the product can be marketed as hormone replacement therapy in the European Economic Area, provided that the European Commission also approves it.

Among the leading shares this week, that of Mol strengthened the most this week, with its share price rising 4.24% to HUF 3,930 on a turnover of HUF 22.14 billion.
Richter's share price rose by 3.36% to HUF 10,770, with weekly turnover slightly exceeding HUF 17 billion.
Magyar Telekom closed 3.31% higher than last Friday's close at HUF 1,998, with total turnover of HUF 4.78 billion.
OTP shares rose 3.29% on a weekly basis, ending the week at HUF 40,540 with a turnover of HUF 86.85 billion.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares fell by 1.32%, dropping to 10,217.92 points by Friday's close.