Bucharest Exchange tumbles amid global turmoil

The Bucharest Stock Exchange's blue-chip index BET plunged by 3.4% on August 5, the steepest daily drop since the Government shook investors' confidence by announcing supplementary taxation measures on December 28, 2022.

On the upside, the liquidity was abundant, and some investors took advantage of the moment. Thus, the value of transactions with shares topped RON234mn, double the average of the YTD period.

The aggressive sales on foreign markets, driven by fears of a recession in the US, were mirrored in Bucharest: a record number of transactions were concluded, greater even than the COVID-19 moment in March 2020, the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, and the listing of Hidroelectrica in the summer of 2023.

Investors completed 36,678 transactions on all markets of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, compared to 25,400 on March 7, 2022, when the investors' panic prompted by the war in Ukraine peaked.

All of the 20 blue chips in the BET index were in the red on August 5, according to data aggregated by Ziarul Financiar. The three steepest declines were seen at Purcari (winery, -6.5%), MedLife (medical services, -6.5%), and TeraPlast (plastic construction materials, -6.3%). The smallest decreases were at Hidroelectrica (hydropower, -1.6%), Bucharest Stock Exchange (-1.9%), and Aquila (logistics, -1.9%).

On foreign markets, the FTSE100 lost 2%, the DAX 2.13%, the CAC40 by 1.7%, the FTSE MIB by 2.3% and in the US the S&P500 dropped by 3.13% and the Dow Jones by 2.7%.

(Photo: Dreamstime)