Athens Stock Exchange Faces Continued Decline: Market Suffers Losses for Three Consecutive Days

 The Greek stock market struggled to withstand international pressure, concluding the first session of October with a downward trend. The domestic market exhibited sluggish movement, with stabilization trends dominating as investors awaited the completion of the National Bank’s placement.

Tuesday’s (1/10) the General Index declined by 4.87 points or -0.34% to close at 1,447.03 points. The range was around 12 points, with a daily high of 1,459.12 points and a daily low of 1,447.03 points. It should be noted that in the last three days the GD recorded losses of -1.65%.

Buyers dominated most of today’s session; however, the rise was characterized as “tepid” following Monday’s correction, during which the Xetra experienced a decline of more than 1%.

The finale brought unexpected twists as Athens adjusted to the shifting landscape of global markets, which have recently entered a downward trend despite a positive start. Essentially, the Greek stock market was “dragged down” by the global pullback, particularly due to developments on Wall Street, which is now ripe for correction after trading at record levels. A significant concern for the markets is the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, particularly the new conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Fears of an Iranian attack on Israel have caused oil prices to surge.

Turnover was sluggish, aimed at raising liquidity due to the placement, hence the folding of some stocks that were moving at record levels (e.g. OTE, Jumbo), which ramped up again today. In the case of Jumbo, the launch of the own shares purchase programme was beneficial.

ETE remains in the spotlight and the ongoing placement for the 10% of the share capital, currently held by the HFSF. A large volume of packages was traded today, with the peak of the pre-agreed transaction 15 minutes after the start of the session, where 1.321 million pieces changed hands at a price of EUR 7.764 (at EUR 10.256 million per package). Three other ETE blocks also passed, with a cumulative value of EUR 1.718 million.

Banks led the decline

Banks fell by -1.03% today, with the sector index closing at 1,238.59 points. The FTSE 25 (high cap) lost -0.5% to 3,509.83 points, while the Mid Cap (mid cap), on the other hand, gained +0.18% to 2,331.62 points.

The value of the transactions amounted to EUR 106.198 million, of which EUR 20.438 million was related to packages. At 32.022 million euros the turnover of ETE and 11.333 million euros that of Piraeus. The market capitalisation was EUR 101,265 billion. Almost twice as many downward stocks (67) as upward stocks (36), while 22 stocks remained unchanged.

Among systemic banks, Eurobank slipped -1.75% to 2.022 euros, followed by Alpha Bank (-1.38% to 1.5365 euros), Piraeus (-0.94% to 3.79 euros) and Ethniki (-0.34% to 7.65 euros).

National Bank remains in the spotlight

Profit taking of a technical nature took place on Monday on the Xetra, with September closing in upward territory, despite being a traditionally difficult month. Trading activity remained at high levels, with banks accounting for 56% of the total trading value, in the “constellation” of private placement in ETE. At the same time, the new front opened in the Middle East, between Israel and Lebanon, brought geopolitical risks back to the fore.

The National Bank remains in the spotlight and the placement for 10% of the shares, from the 18.39% held by the HFSF. It is noted that the offer book was oversubscribed 6 times within just two hours of opening. Yesterday, it alone absorbed more than 25% of the trading on the stock exchange (34.35 million euros), while six packages worth a total of 6.39 million euros changed hands. The pre-agreed transactions were made at prices around 7.9 euros, i.e. close to the upper range (7.3 euros to 7.95 euros).

The tender book closes on Wednesday 2 October at 16:00. The issue was oversubscribed 9 times on the first day, with pricing initially close to the upper end of the price range. The second day reportedly began with an 11-fold oversubscription. As a result, Eurobank Equities explains, the HFSF may announce a narrower price range or provide pricing guidance closer to the upper end.

Monday (30/9) was the deadline for the publication of first-half results, bringing some technical moves by investors as part of a restructuring of their portfolios. The net profitability of the listed companies “touched” 5.8 billion euros, once again exceeding analysts’ expectations. In the short term, attention is now turning to Cenergy Holdings, as the AGM is scheduled for Wednesday (2/10) to approve the up to €200 million AMK.

Mass liquidations in international markets

Wall Street is posting strong losses today, with the tech Nasdaq sliding -1.8%. September ended on a down note, a month that started off sluggishly. The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq “broke” record after record, returning to positive territory yesterday despite a bearish start. The rise in the key indices in the third quarter was spectacular.

European stock markets continued to fall, in some cases by more than -1%, on Tuesday’s session. Eurozone inflation data, which slowed to below 2%, temporarily helped markets. Now the sellers have the upper hand in the context of the generalized correction. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index is down -0.6%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 are down -0.9% and -1%, respectively.

On the other hand, Asian markets – the few that remained open – rebounded today, with Japan’s Nikkei index gaining nearly +2%. Stock markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea remained closed.

Read more financial news at Newmoney.gr

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