BUX down on consumer price outlook
The Budapest Stock Exchange's main BUX index finished down 0.90% at 17,463.68 Thursday, after climbing 0.09% Wednesday. It is down 5.93% from the end of last year, after it rose 2.15% in 2013. European gloom for most of the day on new Greek political risks, and a disappointingly low uptake of ECB's super long refinancing (TLTRO) was felt in the Budapest parquet, too.
BUX, however, could not follow a late-afternoon upturn in most European markets, as it remained pressured by fresh data on deflation deepening more than expected in Hungary in November. The headline figure was down mostly on fuel prices, but core inflation continued to be nil on the month, and slowed on the year. Also on Thursday, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) ticked down most of its underlying measures of inflation in its November inflation report.
While most analysts believe dismal price perspectives increase expectations for the central bank to re-start easing, few see this happening in the very near future.
The state's apparent scramble and inventiveness to find new revenue sources, too, soured mood after the government surprised shippers and private drivers alike by making most parts of the M0 bypass around Budapest a toll road from January, risking, according to experts, a traffic catastrophe in the outer districts of the capital and its agglomeration.
MOL and Richter also felt the uncertainty surrounding Hungarian-Russian relations in the wake of Russia stopping the South Stream gas pipeline project.
OTP gained 0.12% to HUF 4,105 on turnover of HUF 3.25 bln from a HUF 7.01 bln session total, a tenth short of the daily average this year. MOL lost 2.22% to HUF 11,660 on turnover of HUF 1.40 bln. Magyar Telekom fell 0.85% to HUF 348 on turnover of HUF 117 mln. Richter retreated 1.04% to HUF 3,815 on turnover of HUF 2.15 bln. The bourse's mid-cap BUMIX went out 0.58% higher at 1,461.66.
Elsewhere in the region, Warsaw's WIG20 was up 0.56%, while Prague's PX dropped 1.09%. Western Europe's major indices were mixed ahead of their close Thursday, FTSE-100 in London down 0.52%, DAX30 in Frankfurt up 0.73%, and CAC40 in Paris up 0.03%.
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