Bucharest Exchange tumbles amid global turmoil
<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>All of the 20 blue chips in the BET index were in the red on August 5, according to data aggregated by <a href="https://www.zf.ro/burse-fonduri-mutuale/2-5-mld-euro-s-au-evaporat-luni-bursa-valori-bucuresti-indicele-bet-22453114?mc_cid=af1cc4c86e&amp;mc_eid=607bd7d763" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ziarul Financiar</a>.&nbsp;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%).</p>

<p>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&amp;P500 dropped by 3.13% and the Dow Jones by 2.7%.</p>

<p><em>(Photo: <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dreamstime</a>)</em></p>

<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com</em></p>