Economy of Greece

Stocks at Athinon Avenue took a big blow on Monday, as sellers took the upper hand after the first few minutes of the session and proceeded with increasing fervor till the end of the day.

Greece experienced an almost 1% GDP loss as a result of the consequences of climate change, such as heatwaves and natural disasters, from the beginning of May to August 4, according to Allianz Research. The fact that this number effectively "takes away" less than half of the growth that the Greek economy is predicted to experience this year makes it incredibly significant.

Local stocks ended a nother profitable month at the Greek bourse, as July saw gains of 4.45% to the benchmark at Athinon Avenue following a session of slight growth for the majority of stocks on Monday. As banks' second-quarter results started flowing in, non-bank blue chips stole the show, with Mytilineos reaching a new all-time high.

Greece has rebounded since the 2009-2018 financial crisis that saw real GDP decline by 25 percent. Modest growth began to return in 2019 and unemployment dropped from its crisis peak of 35 percent in 2013 to 12 percent in 2022, the State Department said in the 2023 Investment Climate Statements.

Greek private sector bank deposits rose for the second month in a row in June, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

Business and household bank deposits rose to 189.3 billion euros at the end of June from €186.4 billion at the end of May, Bank of Greece data showed.

Greek banks' deposit inflows have been rising since the lifting of Covid restrictions last year.

The Hellenic Fiscal Council is predicting a slightly higher growth rate than the Stability Program, 2.6% against 2.3% for 2023, while for 2024 it is more pessimistic, expecting GDP to increase by 2.8% against the government forecast for 3%.

A number of energy and industrial blue chips kept the Greek stock market benchmark on a positive course on Friday, in the face of the decline of the majority of stocks and the banks index. The main index ended the week at another nine-year high through its marginal growth, which revealed fatigue on the part of traders and the resilience of some index-heavy stocks. 

Thursday was another positive day for the Greek stock market, albeit on rather weak turnover. The benchmark at Athinon Avenue climbed to yet another nine-year high, this time boosted mainly by mid-caps as investors seek opportunities in underpriced stocks.

The Greek state on Wednesday borrowed 250 million euros from the markets at an interest rate of 3.3%, by auctioning Greek bonds maturing on June 15, 2028.

During the auction, carried out by the Public Debt Management Agency, the total bids amounted to €1.046 billion.

The settlement date is Wednesday, July 26. 

On Tuesday high-flying Mytilineos Group and the banking sector led the Greek stock market back to its upward course that has dominated Athinon Avenue throughout this year.