The BUX Fell on Falling Turnover This Week

The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) share index fell on a downward trend this week, with the BUX closing at 39,659.23 points on Friday, down 187.41 points or 0.47% on the previous week. Turnover fell from HUF 46.99 billion the previous week to HUF 40.24 billion, with leading shares performing mixed, the state news agency MTI reported Sunday morning.

In its summary sent to MTI, Equilor Investment Plc. highlighted the Monetary Council of the Hungarian Central Bank's meeting on Tuesday, which was not originally scheduled to set interest rates, as one of the week's economic events.

The board raised the base rate from 7.75% to 9.75%, while the interest rate corridor also shifted higher, with the overnight deposit rate rising to 9.25% and the overnight and one-week covered loan rates to 12.25%, they wrote.

In a background briefing following the interest rate decision, MNB Vice Governor Barnabás Virág made a special reference to the situation in the foreign exchange market and indicated that all central bank tools would be used to fight against developments that threaten price stability, Equilor recalled.

The commentary added that Standard & Poor's believes that the Hungarian government's more conciliatory stance towards the European Union is a clear positive signal and could reduce fiscal and financing risks. According to the rating agency, fiscal and monetary policy tightening are necessary steps. The rating agency expects an agreement on the resources for the EU recovery fund to be reached before the end of the year.

Among the leading stocks, Richter was the strongest performer this week, with its share price up 4.38%, closing at HUF 7,510 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 8.33 billion. Mol gained 1.03%, closing Friday at HUF 2,944, with a weekly turnover of HUF 9.79 billion. OTP weakened by 4.09%, ending the week at HUF 8,124, with a turnover of over HUF 20.16 billion. Magyar Telekom's share price fell by 7.01% this week, closing at HUF 305 on Friday, with a weekly turnover of HUF 882.5 million.

The BUMIX index of small and medium-sized shares closed the week at 3,565.38 points, down 139.74 points, or 3.77%, on the previous week.