BUX down on weak OTP

Following a stronger opening the BUX index was above the break-even point for most of the trading session on Thursday, but around an hour before the end of trading the share price of OTP began to fall and it dragged down the BUX index with it.

The European Commission on Thursday said it launched an infringement procedure against Hungary for failing to comply with European Union public procurement rules in an upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant, but investors did not react to the news.

The National Economy Ministry also failed to cause a stir as it confirmed its preliminary data that Hungaryʼs cashflow-based general government deficit reached 91.5% of the HUF 892.4 bln full-year target at the end of October.

OTP lost 1.94% to HUF 5,910 on turnover of HUF 11.19 bln from a HUF 15.89 bln session total. OTP had performed well in the last few days and investors used the high share price to lock in profits on Thursday.

MOL was down 1.27% at HUF 13,565 on turnover of HUF 2.03 bln.

Magyar Telekom was unchanged at HUF 409 on turnover of HUF 807 mln.

Richterʼs share price climbed 0.25% to HUF 5,125 on turnover of HUF 1.76 bln. The share price reached HUF 5,151 during the session, a record high.

The bourseʼs mid-cap BUMIX finished 0.09% lower at 1,629.22.

Elsewhere in the region, the WIG-20 in Warsaw was down 0.70%, while Pragueʼs PX edged up 0.01%.

Western Europeʼs major indices were up ahead of the end of trading. The FTSE100 in London gained 0.88%, the DAX30 in Frankfurt was up by 1.01%, and the CAC40 in Paris was up 0.14%.