BUX Rose This Week Amid Falling Turnover

The Budapest Stock Exchange's (BSE) share index, the BUX, rose to 41,779.48 points on Friday, up 523.78 points or 1.27% on the previous week, the state news agency MTI reported this Sunday morning.

Weekly turnover fell from HUF 70.882 billion to HUF 68.313 billion, with leading shares performing mixed. 

The BUX saw significant fluctuations during the week. Although it was almost unchanged on Monday, it rose by 1.6% on Tuesday, rose by 2.36% on Wednesday, fell by 3.36% on Thursday, and then rose again on Friday, gaining 0.74%.

Trading this week was generally driven by international sentiment. Domestically, investor interest was tied to news of the formation of the government and the hearings of ministerial candidates this week, Equilor Investment Plc. said in its weekly summary.

In corporate news, the share buyback auction of Magyar Telekom was highlighted this week. At Tuesday's auction – during which Telekom shares were temporarily suspended from trading on the stock exchange – the company accepted bids worth a maximum HUF 14.6 billion, the previously announced maximum, at an average price of HUF 426.

The dividend coupon was removed from OTP shares on Friday, weakening the paper, while the value of Mol shares continues to be affected by the threat of the oil embargo.

Equilor noted that two investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale, had cut their target prices for OTP.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares, up 0.07%, or 2.61 points, ended the week at 3,950.99 points, with a turnover of HUF 10.247 billion.