The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) reacted negatively to the election results, and volatility could persist until the second round of the presidential elections, but there is no need to panic, say brokers consulted by Agerpres on Monday. According to BVB data consulted by Energynomics, the BET index closed Monday’s session in the red, with -2.88%, with all indices falling between 2.3 and 3.1%, after a downward opening on all indices.

“What is happening now in the market is a result of the election results and investors’ concerns about what will happen in the second round. Definitely after the second round, things will become certain, that is, we will see the direction in which the economy, the country, will go, what will happen. Investors’ concern is that, depending on the election results, there will be a reaction from international markets, especially from international financiers. And then, I think that what we see now in the market is a precaution, let’s say, from investors. Wait. I think that for two weeks, we will still have volatility. Either there will be days like today’s one began, or there will be recoveries, let’s say, if the declines continue and then we will have days in which we will see the market in the green, but what is certain is that after the two weeks, after the second round of the elections, the trend will be clear and then we will know in which direction the market will go,” explained Ovidiu-Lucian Isac, general manager of Estinvest.

For his part, Antonio Oroian, a broker at Goldring, said that a negative reaction to the election result is now visible, “especially in light of the rather high result obtained by the far-right candidate.”

“However, given the trading volumes, we cannot speak, at least for now, of a panic among investors. Even so, we are entering political instability again, if we look at the tensions in the governing coalition, and this instability does not help us at all, neither in fiscal-budgetary issues, nor in the perception of foreign investors and rating agencies,” Antonio Oroian emphasized.

Also, Alin Brendea, a stock analyst at Prime Transaction, believes that the market reaction was negative, but moderate.

“The local stock market’s initial reaction to the results of the first round of the presidential elections was negative, but moderate. After the first hour and a half, the indices lost about 1.5%, unlike European markets, which are growing slightly. The traded value is increasing compared to the last trading sessions, but about 50% of this was achieved by Banca Transilvania shares. There is a lot of caution in the market, with investors trying to assess the new realities of the political scene. Any signal that Romania is heading towards an isolationist destination towards the European Union and NATO has the potential to negatively affect market sentiment, in an economy still largely dependent on foreign investments and European funds to maintain its financial balance and economic growth,” said Alin Brendea.