Bucharest stock market rises for the second day in a row

The main indexes of Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) partially reverse previous losses for the second market session in a row Thursday as investors regain interest in local banks and energy firms despite worries about the new taxes introduced by the government in 2019.

At 4:00 PM, BET, the index including the main 15 companies listed on the market, gained 0.35 percent to 7,479.42 points. Banca Transilvania, which lost more than 20 percent of its value last week, rose on Monday by 0.75 percent, while BRD gained 0.7 percent.

Energy firms are also on the recovery path. State-owned monopoly Transelectrica’s shares appreciated by 3 percent.

Romgaz, one of the biggest state-owned companies, rose by 0.5 percent recovering some of last week’s losses. However, OMV Petrom, controlled by Austria’s OMV, lost 1 percent.

Black Wednesday

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On Wednesday, following the announcement of new taxes on banks, capping gas price and major changes regarding private pensions scheme, BSE’s main indexes and shares crashed in one of the worst days in Romanian stock market’s history.

Banca Transilvania, the bigger Romanian bank in terms of assets, lost 19.9 percent at the closure of the market session, while BRD-Groupe Societe Generale fell 16.6 percent, in a session called by analysts and journalists “the Black Wednesday.”

This means that investors lost close to EUR 3 billion in one day. Following the 3 days in the red (from Wednesday to Friday), Banca Transilvania’s value declined in 3 days by more than EUR 500 million, from RON 11.3 billion (EUR 2.43 billion) to RON 8.85 billion (EUR 1.9 billion).

OMV Petrom’s value decreased in the same period from RON 19.7 billion (EUR 4.2 billion) to RON 16.3 billion (EUR 3.5 billion).

The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), whose chiefs were imposed by the main ruling party, has announced that it will verify all transactions made in the day before the crash of the stock market for possible inside information.