BUX down after GDP data
The Budapest Stock Exchange's main BUX index finished down 0.42% at 17,382.95 Friday, after rising 0.11% Thursday. It is down 6.36 % from the end of last year, after it rose 2.15% in 2013. Third quarter GDP data for Hungary came in stronger than expected in the morning, but still showed a clear slowdown with more to come, analysts said.
Euro zone third quarter GDP figures promised no impetus to come from Western markets either in the foreseeable future.
OTP posted better than expected third quarter results, more than triple the year-ago amount, after the record loss in the second quarter, but the improvement mostly resulted from the base effect of a goodwill write-off at the bank's business in Ukraine a year earlier, and from some positive revaluations of the impact of retail debtor relief legislation.
Meanwhile in a radio interview, the prime minister contemplated the prospect of more than 60% of Hungary's banking sector to be held by "national hands" soon, exceeding the government's earlier, 50%, target.
The Budapest parquet was also subdued after the prime minister termed a US embassy communication that listed events preceding the ban on six government related Hungarian officials from entering the US on corruption suspicions a "scrap of paper", and Hungary's customs and tax office, the head of which is among those banned, said the US embassy document was based on "gossip and innuendo," containing "shallow and misleading information". Some analysts worry such kind of undiplomatic snub might lead to difficulties in Hungarian-US relations.
Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (AmCham) account for 35% of Hungary's exports.
OTP lost 1.76% to HUF 4,010 on turnover of HUF 3.44 bln from a HUF 5.20 bln session total, two-thirds of the daily average this year.
MOL rose 0.63% to HUF 12,070 on turnover of HUF 626 mln.
Magyar Telekom gained 0.87% to HUF 348 on turnover of HUF 275 mln.
Richter retreated 0.40% to HUF 3,710 on turnover of HUF 739 mln.
The bourse's mid-cap BUMIX went out 0.79% lower at 1,438.27.
Over the week, the BUX was up 1.51% after falling 1.13% the previous week.
OTP improved 2.79% after sinking 4.03% last week.
MOL rose 2.64% after recovering 0.51% the previous week.
Magyar Telekom gathered 1.46% after rising 0.88% last week.
Richter dropped 0.48% after losing 0.67% over the previous week.
Elsewhere in the region, Warsaw's WIG20 was up 1.08%, while Prague's PX rose 0.19%. Western Europe's major indices were all slightly up ahead of their close Friday, FTSE-100 in London 0.14%, DAX30 in Frankfurt 0.01%, and CAC40 in Paris 0.41%.
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