The BET-TR index, which reflects the evolution of the 20 most liquid securities from the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) plus the dividends disbursed by companies, reached a new historical high of 24,433 points on August 11, exceeding the previous record of 24,212 points established in mid-January.

Since the beginning of the year, BET-TR has grown by 5.71%, recovering entirely the fall that occurred in the context of the deterioration of economic prospects, the increase in interest rates by the central banks and the war started by Russia in Ukraine, Bursa explained.

In the last 12 months, the BET-TR index has gained over 15%, covering the rise in consumer prices, as the annual inflation also stands close to 15%.

Its nominal increase represents an outstanding performance, given that the BUX index (which is a Total Return type index - which also takes into account dividends) from Budapest or WIG-20 from Warsaw are far below historical highs.

The better performance of BET-TR can be attributed partly to its structure, where the energy companies (helped by the current context) hold a large weight. The shares of OMV Petrom, Fondul Proprietatea - dominated by Hidroelectrica - and especially Romgaz posted consistent YTD performances.

Most of the index's performance comes from the dividends paid by companies in its basket. The Bucharest Stock Exchange's flagship index BET, which has the same structure, but doesn't factor in dividends, has gained only 4% in the last 12 months and is down 4% year-to-date.

(Photo: George Calin/ Inquam Photos)

andrei@romania-insider.com