The Romanian capital market goes up by 55 percent during the two years of the pandemic

By rbj
The volatility of the international capital markets in January continued to make its presence felt last month, at the end of which most stock indices were in slightly negative territory. The anxiety of international investors, triggered earlier this year by the announcements regarding the key interest rate increases confirmed by the central banks and the uncertainties generated by the coronavirus pandemic, intensified with the escalation of military tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The investors reacted in a narrow corridor to the intensification of the military conflict in Ukraine. For example, in Bucharest, last month the most significant negative valence recorded in a day at the level of BET-TR and BET indices was 4.1% and took place on February 24th. On the same day, over 23,000 sale and purchase orders were placed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. By the end of February, the BET-TR index, which includes dividends, had reached a level of 22,648 points, down 2% from the end of last year. The BET index, which includes the most traded companies listed on BVB, closed last month at 12,716 points, or 2.6% below last year’s level.
The Romanian capital market has been characterized by resilience to uncertainties and has brought significant potential benefits to investors who have chosen to place their savings in the financial instruments listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. From the end of February 2020, when the first case of coronavirus was registered in Romania, and until the end of last month, the Romanian capital market increased by 55% when looking at the BET-TR index, which includes dividends, and by 39 % when taking into account the BET index. During all this time, the Romanian investors present on the Bucharest Stock Exchange have become more and more numerous. According to the Investor Compensation Fund (FCI), the total number of investors trading on BVB reached 81,793, according to the report from the end of last year.
„In the two years of the pandemic, we could see a clear trend in terms of the financial preference of the population who chose to focus more and more on the stock market in order to take part in the success stories of Romanian companies but also to limit the erosion of purchasing power caused by a high rate of inflation. Romania positions itself as a pole of stability in the region in a context dominated by the high regional instability generated by the military conflict in Ukraine. We are going through moments of concern both from a human and economic perspective. For investors, the local stock market has grown by 55% in two years, even in high volatility and it has shown that it can be an essential pillar for the Romanians’ savings,” said Radu Hanga, President of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
„One of the most important lessons we have learned individually and collectively from this pandemic is that we have the ability to withstand shocks. It has become so important for every Romanian to diversify their savings that having an investment account today is an essential issue of financial security and over 80,000 Romanians have understood that the local stock market is a reliable choice. It is important for Romanian investors not to react emotionally with their savings, but to follow their own investment strategy in accordance with their risk profile. In an international context marked by volatility, a forward-looking investment strategy will provide more clarity and security,” said Adrian Tanase, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
At the end of the first two months of this year, the total trading value from the Regulated Market of BVB with all types of financial instruments accounted for RON 3.75 billion, the equivalent of EUR 760 million, up by 66% compared to the same period of last year. The average daily liquidity was RON 93.7 million lei, or EUR 19 million.