BUX loses 0.17% in choppy trade as weak US jobs data dampens outlook

The Budapest Stock Exchange's blue-chip BUX index closed Friday trade down 0.17% to 18,233.03, delving in and out of positive territory seven times in the final three hours of trade as investors anticipated and processed data showing that the US economy added no new jobs in August.

The BUX dove 120 immediately following the publication of data at 2:30 p.m. CET, showing that the US economy added no new jobs in August, closing the BSE's Friday session 31.77 points lower on a composite exchange turnover of HUF 14.65 billion. The BUX fluctuated in a 1.51% range between an intra-session low of 18,044.33 shortly after morning bell and an intra-session high of 18,317.39 following one of three short-lived post-US-jobs-data rallies at 4:30 p.m.

The mid-cap BUMIX index also declined on Friday, losing 13.25 points, or 0.89%, to 1,482.85.

BSE blue-chips stood as follows at Friday's closing bell:

OTP Bank lost 1.21% to HUF 4,001 on an exchange-high turnover of HUF 9.46 billion;

Oil and gas company MOL declined 0.96% to HUF 17,100 on a turnover of HUF 2.94 billion;

Drug company Richter gained 2.13% to HUF 35,530 on a turnover of HUF 1.41 billion;

Magyar Telekom advanced 0.78% to HUF 514 on a turnover of HUF 638 million.

The BSE Big Four generated 98.6% of the exchange's composite Friday turnover.

Other major central and eastern European blue-chip stock indices also closed lower on Friday, with Prague's PX-50 losing 1.55% and Warsaw's WIG-20 declining 2.63%.