BUX loses 1% as Greek debt concerns weigh on sentiment

The Budapest Stock Exchange’s blue-chip BUX index closed Tuesday trade down 1.00% to 18,660.85 as concerns that the European Central Bank may be compelled to write down its Greek bond holdings in an effort to restructure the country’s debt weighed on sentiment at bourses throughout Europe.

The BUX lost 188.83 points on a composite exchange turnover of HUF 11.02bn, fluctuating in a 1.77% range between an intra-session high of 18,946.84 shortly after the BSE’s 9:00 a.m. morning bell and an intra-session low of 18,611.39 shortly after 3:00 p.m..

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

OTP Bank lost 1.51% to HUF 3,840 on an exchange-high turnover of HUF 8.53bn, or 77.4% of the BSE’s total Wednesday trade;

Oil and gas company MOL declined 1.49% to HUF 18,860 on a turnover of HUF 1.03bn;

Drug company Richter lost 0.50% to HUF 36,020 on a turnover of HUF 779m;

Magyar Telekom finished flat at HUF 550 on a turnover of HUF 213m.

The BSE Big Four generated 95.8% of the exchange’s composite Tuesday turnover.