The Budapest Stock Exchange took the top spot, with 13% growth. The Polish stock market gained 5%, while the Vienna stock market slowed down to 2.8% growth. Except for the London Stock Exchange, all the Western stock markets closed in the red in April.
“The Bucharest Stock Exchange did very well in April. Certain events like the completion of the Volksbank takeover by Banca Transilvania or the general shareholder meetings enlivened the market and unfroze some investments, bringing new money on the market,” said Marcel Murgoci, trading manager with brokerage firm Estinvest.
The top performer among the liquid shares was Banca Transilvania (TLV.RO), with a 16.67% gain in April. Banca Transilvania stock price therefore rose by 28% in January-April. The regional investment funds (SIFs), which have a high exposure to Banca Transilvania shares, increased, as well. SIF Moldova (SIF2.RO), which has an over 30% exposure to Banca Transilvania shares, rose by 4.4% in April. So did SIF Banat-Crisana (SIF1.RO), which rose by 6%, while SIF Muntenia (SIF4.RO) gained 3.7%.
BRD-SocGen saw the second highest monthly growth of all liquid shares, 15%. Brokers say investors are expecting the bank to post good first-quarter financial results (BRD will announce first-quarter results on May 6). Erste Bank (EBS.RO), the owner of Romania’s largest bank, BCR, saw significant growth, too, 10%.
“Chances are high 2015 will be the year of the banks after the energy companies overperformed last year,” the broker concluded.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)