• Bucharest Stock Exchange booms –

+++Tough Iran negotiations+++Ukraine war escalates+++Drones remain a key issue+++False flag attack in Leipzig? +++Zelenskyy under pressure+++What will the Fed do? +++S&P Index and DAX reach new all-time highs+++Gold/silver recover+++Industrial metals remain in demand+++Michael Burry goes short Nvidia – so what? +++Eastern European stock markets offer major opportunities+++CECE Index (Poland/Hungary/Czech Republic): +22%+++ SETX Index: Southeast Europe: +32%+++Top performer Romania: ROTX +44%+++Paprika in the portfolio: Budapest +36%+++Kazakhstan: KTX Index +30%+++Poland as an outperformer: PTX Index +22%+++

US President Donald Trump once again raised hopes last week that he is close to achieving a positive negotiating result with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen. Global stock markets immediately reacted with relief and price gains. The S&P Index, and with it the DAX40 Index, reached a new all-time high on August 14. Once again, however, Eastern European stock markets performed even better, led by Romanian equities (ROTX Index +43%) and Hungarian equities (HTX Index +36% in euros), with Hungary also benefiting from currency gains of almost 10%. Equities in Kazakhstan (KTX Index +30%) and Georgia also clearly outperformed the S&P Index (+13.5%), the NASDAQ Index (+15.04%) and the DAX (+7.7%). Among Western stock markets, the Nikkei 225 Index still performed best with a gain of 32.6%, although this was accompanied by currency losses due to the weak yen.

All of these indices and stocks are covered in detail in the East Stock Trends stock market newsletter (last time with the Hungary special: “Paprika in the Portfolio!” and next time with a Bulgaria special). Despite their significant outperformance, Eastern European stock markets are still largely neglected by the Western media. In the long term, there are even tenbagger opportunities.

Andreas Männicke provides his assessment in his East Stock Trends stock market newsletter (www.eaststock.de ) and also in his new EastStockTV video, episode 271 on YouTube.

“TACO Man” Trump moves the markets

“TACO Man” Trump once again ensured that the S&P Index and, in Wall Street’s wake, the DAX reached new all-time highs. Last week, Trump once again announced that he was close to a significant positive negotiating result with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz would soon reopen. Shares were immediately bought again, while oil was temporarily sold via the futures market. The S&P Index rose to 7,793 points by August 14 (+13.3% since the beginning of the year) and the DAX to 26,440 points (+7.7% since the beginning of the year). The Nikkei Index even climbed to 68,713 points on August 14, representing a gain of 32% since the start of the year.

Brent crude oil remains volatile depending on Trump announcements

The Brent crude oil price remains highly volatile. It initially fell from USD 100 to USD 80 per barrel, rose to USD 87.7 per barrel on August 14 and had even reached a high of USD 89 per barrel on August 11, representing an increase of more than 40% since the beginning of the year. If there is no agreement with Trump, there is even a risk of a global energy crisis in the autumn. Gas storage levels in Germany are very low.

Iran did reach an agreement with Oman on how ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian control. However, Iran is obviously still far from reaching an agreement with Trump, although both sides are expected to sign a declaration of intent in Switzerland on Friday. The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked for the time being. The situation could spiral out of control and escalate again at any time, especially as the Houthi rebels from Yemen are now also attacking facilities in Saudi Arabia and Israel intends to continue attacking Iran and Lebanon.

The gold price has recovered strongly since the beginning of August, rising from USD 4,100 to USD 4,384 per ounce, while silver rose from USD 58 to USD 64.6 per ounce. Gold is therefore back at roughly the level seen at the beginning of the year, while silver is still down 14%. Industrial metals also remain in demand. Copper rose to a new annual high of USD 14,100 per tonne, zinc to USD 3,800 and tin to USD 55,729, representing a gain of 33% since the beginning of the year. This can be exploited effectively with BNP Paribas ETCs. Bitcoin remained largely unimpressed and moved sideways at around USD 62,000/BTC.

Drones remain an important issue, not only because of the attack on Leipzig Airport

Both the war in Iran and the war in Ukraine are heavily dominated by modern drones, which can also cause enormous economic damage. In Russia, more than one third of refining capacity has already been destroyed, leading to an acute fuel shortage in the country. Russia is now also attacking Kyiv with missiles and bombs with enormous destructive power. It is not known who the drones at Leipzig Airport came from, but mainstream media and politicians naturally immediately pointed to Russia. According to a DNA test, a group from Lithuania and Poland is now said to be behind the attack in Leipzig. The identity of the actual client is still unclear. It may also have been a false flag attack against the Ukrainian Antonov aircraft. The same group is said to have already carried out an explosives attack on Leipzig Airport in 2024.

Drones can also be used for civilian purposes and increase corporate productivity. One interesting Asian drone manufacturer that uses its drones in the civilian sector, specifically in warehouses, is Dt. Defense Beteiligung AG (WKN A2BPHP) – a start-up company from Singapore with high growth potential. The company is conducting a roadshow from August 24 to 26 in Frankfurt/Main, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. Interested parties are asked to contact the author at info@eaststock.de or by telephone at +49 40 6570883.

Michael Burry goes short tech stocks – should you?

So far, investors have largely ignored the high geopolitical risks and inflation risks, as well as high capital market yields of 5.2% on 30-year US government bonds. The well-known short seller Michael Burry is now short some tech stocks that he considers overvalued, such as Nvidia, Micron, Tesla and Caterpillar, meaning he is betting on falling prices. But he does not always have to be right, unlike during the Lehman Brothers crash in 2008, when he made billions with short positions on banks. His story inspired the well-known film “The Big Short”.

Eastern European stock markets remain in an uptrend and continue to outperform

Most Eastern European stock markets are still in an uptrend and, once again, as in the past three years, have clearly outperformed the indices of the major Western stock markets such as the S&P Index and the DAX40 Index. The ROTX Index for Romanian equities such as energy stocks Romgaz and Transgaz has risen by almost 50% since the beginning of the year, the HTX Index for Hungarian equities such as top performers Magyar Telekom and OTP Bank by 37%, the KTX Index with stocks from Kazakhstan such as Halyk Bank and uranium producer Kazatomprom by 30%, and the PTX Index for Polish equities such as copper producer KGHM or the Warsaw Stock Exchange GPW by 25%.

The CECE Index, which includes stocks from Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, has already gained 22%, while the SETX Index for stocks from Southeast Europe is up 32%. The ATX Index from Austria is also effectively half an Eastern Europe index, because many Austrian companies invest and generate business in Eastern Europe, including Erste Bank and Raiffeisen Bank International, both of which are delivering very good results. With a gain of 24.5%, the ATX Index is also among the top performers across global stock markets. Excellent opportunities can also be found in Georgia with Lion Finance Group (Bank of Georgia +27% in 2026) and Georgia Capital (+51% since 2025 and +437% in 3 years!).

Get informed first, then invest

Find out more now about the background and development of the Ukraine/Russia crisis, as well as the future recovery potential of undervalued Eastern European stocks. There are also new opportunities in the Baltic states, Southeast Europe and the CIS republics (Kazakhstan, Georgia). In 2025, as many as 9 stock markets in Eastern Europe once again outperformed with strong gains (CECE Index >50%!). And since the beginning of this year, there have once again already been 9 Eastern European stock markets that have clearly outperformed the DAX. It therefore remains worthwhile to look beyond the usual markets and toward Eastern Europe.

Order a trial subscription now (3 issues by email for only €15) to the monthly EAST STOCK TRENDS (EST) stock market newsletter, featuring another Romania and Hungary special, an Eastern Europe certificates special, extensive background information and new investment ideas such as the “Stock of the Month” and attractive certificates at www.eaststock.de, under Stock Market Newsletter. The most recent EST issue was published on July 31, 2026.

TV/radio notes: On July 19, 2025, Andreas Männicke was interviewed by Michael Mross as part of the MMnews Club about the top stocks in Eastern Europe. On October 6, 2025, Andreas Männicke was also interviewed by Andreas Gross on Börsenradio Networks about the new opportunities in Eastern Europe. All radio and TV interviews can be downloaded from the video archive at www.eaststock.de, including the latest EastStockTV video, episode 271. By the way: in addition to the YouTube channel EastStockTV, have you already subscribed to the new YouTube channel BRICS-TV?

Seminar note: If you are interested in new “Go East” Eastern European stock market seminars or a BRICS seminar in Frankfurt/Main or other cities, please contact the EST editorial team (www.eaststock.de). If you are interested in Eastern European stock market webinars and BRICS webinars, please get in touch as well.

Also subscribe now to Andreas Männicke’s free newsletter with current news on global and Eastern European stock markets and the BRICS at www.eaststock.de. Please also contact info@eaststock.de if you are interested in a new BRICS newsletter by Andreas Männicke.