All-time high on the Bucharest Stock Exchange
The Bucharest Stock Exchange has reached a new all-time high.
Mihai Pelin, 11.05.2026, 13:50
The impact of political crises on the Bucharest Stock Exchange has steadily moderated in recent years, reflecting a maturing local market. This is the assessment of analysts in the field now, when Romania is going through such a crisis, overlapping foreign ones and pushing the national currency, the Leu, to its lowest level in history against the Euro a few days ago, when the government in Bucharest was toppled following a no-confidence vote.
Meanwhile, the macroeconomic context shows signs of stabilising, and the Leu went up 0.7% in the interbank market, recovering from the recent all-time lows. The BET, the benchmark index of the Bucharest Stock Exchange Friday ended the week’s last trading session with a 1.2% increase, at a 29,720-point high, after having gained over 5% in the week in which the government led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan was dismissed.
In turn, the largest electricity producer in Romania and the most valuable Romanian company, Hidroelectrica, reached a new all-time high, with EUR 14.6 billion in capitalisation, the largest on the Bucharest stock market. Since the beginning of the year, the BET index, which reflects the performance of the 20 most liquid Romanian companies in the market, has gained 21%, with an increase of over 80% in the last 12 months. Also, the return on 10-year bonds dropped by 0.43%, to 6.95%.
The government’s borrowing costs have started to fall amid positive signals propagated internationally regarding the easing of tensions in the Middle East, says the interim finance minister Alexandru Nazare. According to him, investor interest in Romanian government securities increased strongly at the last issue of 12-month treasury bonds, when Romania attracted more than double the originally planned amount. It is a sign of growing investor confidence in Romania’s ability to preserve its financial stability, Alexandru Nazare explained.
In this context, the sale of government assets in strategic companies could be temporarily banned until the end of 2027, under a bill tabled by the largest parliamentary party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and pending review by the Chamber of Deputies. The document was recently endorsed by the Senate, after the authors argued that they are not against listing companies, but they question the method and the timing. The Social Democrats argue that there is no reference in the government programme to the sale of stakes in CEC Bank, the Port of Constanta, Salrom and Hidroectrica.
On the other hand, Save Romania Union explained that the government’s intention was to list shares of these categories of companies, so that any Romanian national or investment fund could access them. Exemptions under the bill include companies with losses for 5 consecutive years or for which insolvency proceedings have been initiated under a final court ruling, as well as shares whose total value, on December 31, 2025 does not exceed roughly EUR 1 million. (AMP)
