Romanian shares yesterday began to share the same optimism as the world financial market, created by a 0.5% cut in the reference rate on the dollar operated by Fed, the US central bank on Tuesday.
Banks and petroleum companies, the best represented on the Bucharest market, benefited from the overall rise in the value of companies in these sectors on the US and European markets, not only as a result of Fed's decision, but also due to a rise in the oil quote, to 82 dollars a barrel.
The BET index of the Bucharest Stock Exchange increased by 1.9%, and the RON appreciated slightly after the American indices increased by more than 2.5% after the rate cut on the dollar to 4.75%. Some of the analysts on the US market expected a cut of 0.25%, while others estimated 0.5%.
"The market rebound is only natural after all the recent corrections, however it would not have occurred had it not been for the boost from the foreign markets. The money is on the market, but investors expected a positive signal from the US market to resume buying," says Octavian Molnar, manager of Arad-based IFB Finwest brokerage firm.
Fed's decision to cut the rate was made in the hope of avoiding a downturn in the US economy and is a breath of fresh air for the ailing banks after the subprime mortgage crisis. Yesterday, the biggest European banks witnessed 4-5% increases in stock quotes.
In addition, the rate cut on the dollar and the rising inflationary risks caused by the rate decline in the United States, could make the emerging markets, such as Romania, get into the good graces of major international investors again.
"There are reasons for optimism, yet I did not see any optimism today (i.e. yesterday), only tension on our stock market. The signal is clearly positive, but after an entire month of decline, the investors have, in some ways, lost confidence in the market. Still, this is a positive step, and we will see the market rebound in a short time," stated Octavian Dragolea, general manager of Egnatia Securities.
The biggest bank listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BRD, increased by 1.5% to 27.5 RON/share, while Banca Transilvania gained almost 1.7%.
Petrom climbed by 3% to 0.5150 RON/share, after it announced the acquisition of Petromservice the day before, a move that will result in a significant cut in production costs.
Rompetrol Rafinare, Rompetrol group's flagship company, increased by 2.6% to 0.1160 RON/share.
The SIFs, whose main assets are shares held in banks, increased by more than 2%, and proved to be the most traded shares on the market as usual.
"Certainly there is a lot of foreign money coming, which will enter the market by the end of the year. I also expect foreign investment funds' portfolios to become more balanced, which means that some of the money on the developed markets will be directed towards emerging markets where growth is higher," Dragolea adds.
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