The Budapest Stock Exchange’s BUX index finished Thursday trade up 1.93% to 18,500.01 as OTP Bank’s gain of nearly 7% on an improvement in euro-zone sentiment following successful bond auctions in Spain and France lifted the BSE blue-chip index to its highest close since August 17, 2011.

The BUX gained 349.71 points on a brisk composite exchange turnover of HUF 29.32bn, fluctuating in a 3.15% range between an intra-session low of 17,994.25 at 11:00 a.m. and an intra-session high of 18,561.40 at 3:10 p.m.

BSE blue-chips stood as follows at Thursday’s closing bell:

OTP Bank gained 6.81% to HUF 3,749 on an immense, exchange-high turnover of HUF 21.75, or just under 75% of the BSE’s total Thursday trade;

Oil and gas company MOL advanced 0.81% to HUF 18,750 on a turnover of HUF 4.34bn;

Magyar Telekom gained 0.18% to HUF 546 on a turnover of HUF 1.69bn;

Drug company Richter lost 1.47% to HUF 36,550 on a turnover of HUF 1.1bn.

The BSE Big Four generated 98.5% of the exchange’s composite Thursday turnover.