(Updates with full report)
BUDAPEST (Thomson Financial) - Budapest shares closed lower in thin trade, tracking major European markets, while pharmaceutical company Egis rallied on a new 'buy' rating and Magyar Telekom edged up as parent Deutsche Telekom continues to be in the spotlight over sales and acquisitions, dealers said.
The leading BUX index was down 0.4 pct to 25,843.16. Trading volume was 24 bln forints, about two thirds of the daily average.
The Hungarian forint was mixed as the euro rose 0.14 pct to 249.93 forints and the US Dollar dipped 0.24 pct to 185.55 forints.
Oil and gas stock MOL edged down 1.16 pct to 22,990 forints after being driven up around 5 pct mid-week amid intense interest in the stock.
MOL's rally, which began Tuesday, coincided with a very favourable report on the company published by Merrill Lynch.
Merrill said MOL was 'the most attractive risk-reward opportunity in the European refining space,' and reiterated its 'buy' rating with a target of 28,000 forints.
Also, stiffening oil prices put a floor in the stock, as oil rose to around the 71 usd mark today on geo-political tensions and supply concerns in the US.
Magyar Telekom (MT) was the only blue chip to buck the decline with its parent company again in the spotlight today.
According to media reports Deutsche Telekom (DT) aims to fetch a price of up to 1 bln eur for its Media & Broadcast division.
Yesterday, similarly unconfirmed reports said DT could takeover Orange Nederland from France Telecom in an asset swap.
Also, late in the day MT announced further inter-company integrations by merging its fixed-line subsidiary Emitel and part of its Internet provider T-Online Hungary into its core T-Com fixed-line operation.
MT's shares ticked up 0.54 pct to 925 forints in a reversal of sluggish performance recently.
Away from telecoms, Pharmaceuticals were mixed.
Egis surged 5.29 pct to 20,110 forints after Raiffeisen reinitiated its coverage with a 'buy' rating, giving the stock a target price of 22,480 forints.
The analysts say that a 'noteworthy' recovery is on the way, with the company seen doubling net profit in the second half of its financial year.
'Second half net profit is foreseen to come in at 6.1 bln forints due to the recovery in Russian sales, improving gross margins and a less unfavourable forex result. We expect full year net profit to be at 8.9 bln forints,' said Raiffeisen.
However, Egis's larger sector peer Richter lost over the day, dropping 1.44 pct to 37,700.
Elsewhere, banks were also mixed, as state-controlled mortgage bank FHB added 1.18 pct to 2,310 forints, after dropping recently following the expiry of dividend rights.
OTP Bank continued it sluggish performance, dipping 0.03 pct to 9,541 forints after reversing a slight lead in morning trade.
Danubius, the hotel chain, was down 0.77 pct to 9,725 forints. The stock has been trading erratically recently with investors fearing that majority owners are preparing for a delisting. edward.krudy@thomson.com ek1/bsd/ek1/rfw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
© 2007 AFX News
