With a one-day delay, the Budapest parquet caught up with European peers while hopes that Greek was nearing an aid-for-reforms deal helped European shares gain further on top of their best day in over a month. An IMF statement late afternoon that said agreement with Greece was still far slowed euro zone markets, but not BUX.

However, local trade remained mixed after the European Parliament has asked the European Commission to assess the situation in Hungary and to establish a new mechanism to monitor democracy, the rule of law and human rights annually across the European Union, in a resolution voted late on Wednesday.

OTP was back in vogue after Raiffeisen Bank International’s Chief Executive restated his confidence in the Hungarian market in an interview with a Hungarian economic portal. Analysing the latest results of the eight largest banks in Hungary, investors also consider that OTP was one of only two, the other being UniCredit, that could increase balance sheet compared to 2008.

OTPʼs rise continued unhindered even after the Chairman of the Hungarian Bank Association said in an interview with Reuters that Hungaryʼs banks face a bumpier path than they may have expected to fix ties with the government, which has begun to cut extra burdens but is still prone to penalise banks when it faces a difficulty. “We are in the middle of the seven Biblical lean years but I donʼt yet see the rich years which are coming. For the next two years I am prepared that this struggle (between the government and the banks) will continue,” Mihaly Patai said.

MOL profited from local fuel price rises which go on despite Brentʼs volatility as the Hungarian currency fell against the dollar in recent weeks, and resumed easing on Thursday.

Magyar Telekom and Richter continued down after latest statistics showed annual retail trade growth steeply slowed the second time in three months in April, but consumer prices shot up more than expected last month in Hungary after an eight-month spell of deflation.

Magyar Telekom was also hit by a regulatory injunction which prevents it and Telenor from implementing planned tariff rises in July, pending an investigation into the fairness of communicating the price changes to costumers.

OTP won 2.99% to HUF 5,582 on turnover of HUF 4.84 bln from a HUF 8.43 bln session total, a fifth short of the daily average this year.

MOL rose 1.73% to HUF 14,690 on turnover of HUF 771m.

Magyar Telekom lost 2.13% to HUF 414 on turnover of HUF 492m.

Richter retreated 0.25% to HUF 4,410 on turnover of HUF 2.30 bln.

The bourseʼs mid-cap BUMIX went out 0.07% lower at 1,590.45. 

Elsewhere in the region, WIG 20 in Warsaw was down 0.22%, while Pragueʼs PX garnered 0.23%. Western Europeʼs major indices were all up ahead of their close Thursday, FTSE100 in London 0.17%, DAX30 in Frankfurt 0.48%, and CAC40 in Paris 0.78%.