Athens Exchange

Greece plans to conclude the re-privatization of its banks by early October with the sale of its last stake in National Bank, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Tuesday's balanced bourse session at Athinon Avenue left the benchmark virtually unchanged and a slight majority of stocks that headed higher, while blue chips ended up in the red. Following Monday's growth, the market managed to hold on to its gains as there was no clear direction for traders to take on the day.

Tuesday’s (3/9) session at the Athens Stock Exchange turned into a derby between buyers and sellers. The General Index was limited to a range of about 6 points, changing sign continuously.

The government is aiming to allocate 10% of the total 18.39% still controlled by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), so as to keep the remaining 8% for disposal to any interested strategic investor, sources have told Kathimerini. They add that the public offering for the 10% stake is expected in the first week of October.

After a disappointing August, this month started with very positive action at the Greek stock market on Monday. Despite the holiday in the US (Labor Day), there were enough sellers to push the benchmark at Athinon Avenue higher, with satisfactory turnover in the aftermath of last Friday's index rebalancing action. Rising stocks outnumbered decliners by two to one.

The Greek stock market made a strong start to September, recording its third consecutive rise. The General Index closed at the highs of the day, with “heavyweights” on its side, which fell significantly in August, creating the right conditions for buyers to re-enter.

The Greek stock market experienced a new downturn following a similar movement at the end of the previous week. The initial rise to around 1,440 points was followed by a shift in investor sentiment, with Athens failing to align with the positive mood of European markets. However, the losses did not cause concern as the support level at 1,430 points remained intact.

The Greek stock market is tuning in to the upward trends of the international markets today (27/8). The next milestone is 1,440 points and the target -attainable for now- is to break through it, in case the positive momentum is maintained for a second consecutive session.

Bank of Cyprus will switch its stock market listing to Athens from London next month, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, the lender has said.

The bank has called a shareholders meeting in Nicosia on September 13 to approve the move, it said, adding that the company plans to list its shares on the Athens Stock Exchange on September 23.

Sellers regained the reins of the domestic market, as part of consolidating some of the gains from the two-day upward reaction on August 6-7, following the -6.27% “Black Monday” (August 5).