The Bucharest bourse’s BET index rose 1.34% to 5,174.9, as Petrom’s 5% rise was joined by significant gains of Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) and Azomures (AZO.RO). Proprietatea closed up 1.3%, while Azomures increased 1.6%, offsetting declines of market operator BVB (BVB.RO), which was down 2.9%, and BRD-Groupe Societe Generale (BRD.RO), which fell 0.9%.
The composite index BET-C gained 0.85% on the day, to 3,038.24.
BET-FI, the index tracking the main investment funds, rose 0.45% to 25,147.98, fueled by Proprietatea’s increase, as the five regional investment funds, or SIFs, closed roughly flat on average.
The BET Extended index, or BET-XT, rose 0.87% on the day, while the index tracking energy companies, BET-NG, was up 0.8%.
Trades unfolded on the stock exchange Wednesday amounted to 68.99 million lei (EUR15.82 million), with RON29.8 million in bond trades.
Proprietatea was the most-traded issuer Tuesday, and its shares closed at RON0.541, following trades worth RON15.56 million.
Petrom, the second-top traded issuer, saw its shares rise 5.1% on the day, to RON0.41, on a traded value of RON6.75 million. Tuesday’s closing price is the highest in seven months for Petrom, which gained more than 30% since the beginning of the year, as investors were expecting strong financial results.
Petrom did not disappoint and Tuesday posted a net profit of RON3.76 billion lei, the largest profit ever recorded by a Romanian company. (EUR1=RON4.36)