The Bucharest Stock Exchange’s flagship index – BET – closed the trading session on Wednesday, May 28, at its highest level since September 5, 2024 (17,932 points). During the day, the BET briefly went over 18,000 points.

The BET has gained 7% after the second round of the presidential elections, on May 18, as Nicusor Dan’s victory ended six months of political turbulence that decoupled the Romanian stock market from its international peers.

Investors on the Bucharest Stock Exchange reacted strongly around the election dates. For example, the BET dropped significantly after far-right candidate Calin Georgescu’s victory in the first round of the presidential elections on November 24, 2024, then recovered after the Constitutional Court annulled the result on December 6.

Similarly, the BET declined after ultranationalist leader George Simion won the first round of the presidential election on May 4 and rebounded after he was defeated in the second round.

Despite its recent gains, the BET has had zero growth in the last year, compared with a 7% gain for the Eurozone stock index STOXX50 and 11% increase for the US index S&P500 (as shown in the chart below).

Meanwhile, Germany’s DAX index has gained 28.7% in the last 12 months. A 12-month comparison between BET and DAX shows significant decoupling in November-December (around the annulled presidential elections in Romania) and in May (between the two rounds of the presidential elections). Meanwhile, the Romanian market was less impacted by the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump at the beginning of April this year.

Going forward, the Bucharest Stock Exchange has some catching up to do, but its evolution in the following months will depend on how the new government manages to bring down the budget deficit, unlock EU fund absorption, and avoid a rating downgrade to “junk”.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: BVB)