BUX up with European peers
The Budapest Stock Exchange's main BUX index finished up 1.90% at 17,648.88 Friday, after sliding 1.05% Thursday. It is down 4.93% from the end of last year, after it rose 2.15% in 2013. In line with regional peers, the Budapest parquet staged a rebound Friday, tracking a bounce in world markets after this week's huge sell-off on concerns over the global and local economy, and new frictions between Hungary's government and the EU executive.
OTP outperformed as more and more court cases of financial institutions against the state are referred to the Constitutional Court on complaints against retroactive legislation. Banks must prove that their rulebooks governing unilateral changes to household clients' loan contracts in the past were in line with fairness provisions of a law adopted in July this year, or else refund clients.
MOL said it would be interested in re-entering talks to buy RWE's oil and gas unit DEA if a EUR 5.1 bln sale to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman falls through.
Meanwhile, Croatia's highest court has overturned an earlier government decision under which oil and gas company INA, a unit of Hungary's MOL, lost drilling licences in the northwest of the country.
OTP rose 3.11% to HUF 4,042 on turnover of HUF 4.56 bln from a HUF 9.58 bln session total, about 15% above the daily average this year. MOL won 2.78% to HUF 11,820 on turnover of HUF 3.77 bln. Magyar Telekom climbed 0.84% to HUF 359 on turnover of HUF 236m. Richter advanced 0.13% to HUF 3,905 on turnover of HUF 938m. The bourse's mid-cap BUMIX went out 0.38% higher at 1,489.35.
On the week, BUX is down 0.29% after sinking 1.08% the previous week. OTP gained 1.05% after a fall of 2.68% last week. MOL fell 0.88% after easing 0.13% the previous week. Magyar Telekom rose 3.16% after diving 4.66% last week. Richter slid 2.86% after rising 1.64% over the previous week.
Elsewhere in the region, Warsaw's WIG20 was up 0.76%, while Prague's PX improved 2.84%. Western Europe's major indices were all up ahead of their close Friday, FTSE-100 in London 1.65%, DAX30 in Frankfurt 2.78%, and CAC40 in Paris 2.83%.
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