The Budapest bourse gained back some of the previous dayʼs heavy losses in a belated upturn, while euro zone markets improved for a third consecutive day.
Finally, risk-on mood reached Budapest, too, as the Chinese prime ministerʼs remarks promising sustained growth through more reform and stimulus, the Japanese prime ministerʼs comments confirming plans to cut corporate taxes, the German chancellorʼs speech in the Bundestag painting a bright picture of the euro zoneʼs economy, and the World Bank chief economistʼs warning the Fed about an early tightening somewhat dulled recent fears for the global economy.
The BUX, however, underperformed most European indices as fresh data showed Hungaryʼs annual exports and imports growth sharply slowed in July, and volumes fell from the previous month, while trade surplus increased less and was smaller than in June.
A fresh warning to foreign investors, a government official said on Wednesday that the state was determined to make further inroads into household energy distribution by buying out foreign owners.
The government has already bought out Germanyʼs RWE after some arm-twisting with mandatory tariff reductions for both gas and electricity, and delays in commissioning alternative gas pipelines offering cheaper resources, analysts add.
OTP won 1.30% to HUF 5,469 on turnover of HUF 1.62 bln from a HUF 4.71 bln session total, a tad above half the daily average this year. MOL rose 0.41% to HUF 13,390 on turnover of HUF 1.16 bln. Magyar Telekom dropped 0.26% to HUF 390 on turnover of HUF 133 mln. Richter advanced 0.73% to HUF 4,140 on turnover of HUF 1.77 bln.
The bourseʼs mid-cap BUMIX went out 0.75% higher at 1,633.65.
Elsewhere in the region, WIG 20 in Warsaw was up 0.59%, while Pragueʼs PX gained 0.79%.
Western Europeʼs major indices were all up ahead of their close on Wednesday, FTSE100 in London 1.42%, DAX30 in Frankfurt 0.67%, and CAC40 in Paris 1.96%.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
