Morgan Stanley

The Athens Stock Exchange general index gained 0.30% to close at 1,431.19 Friday, the last session for August.

Turnover was €378.30 million due to the restructuring of the MSCI indices. The new indices will take effect Monday.

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 General Index of the Athens Stock Exchange opened with small losses, which is a breath away from the 1,400-point target, while Motor Oil’s shares are in the spotlight today, following MSCI’s surprise decision to leave it out of the MSCI Standard Greece index.

Uncontrollable “bleeding” in global markets, with Athens recording one of the largest percentage drops compared to other European stock exchanges. Most of this year’s gains were lost, with trading volume at high levels due to mass sell-offs.

On Monday (5/8), the General Index plunged by -7.37%, trading at 1,325.49 points, fluctuating between a low of 1,325.03 and a high of 1,428.01 points.

The current scenario reflects one of the most significant daily declines in recent years, comparable to February 24, 2022 (-6.42%) and March 23, 2020 (-7.58%). If the index falls below 1,300 points, it risks wiping out 2024’s gains.

May was the month when the benchmark of the Greek stock market temporarily topped the 1,500-point level to register a 13-year high, but on a monthly basis the year's fifth month recorded a decline of 1.15% after Friday's fresh losses at Athinon Avenue.

Signs displayed by some stocks that there might be a rebound of the Greek bourse on Thursday proved to be short-lived, with the benchmark reverting to red and staying there up to the session's closing, before Friday's closure for the month, the MSCI index restructuring and the verdict by Fitch on the Greek credit rating.

The state's asset protection plan, dubbed Hercules, will render securitizations a more attractive instrument for the reduction of nonperforming exposures (NPEs) of Greek banks, Morgan Stanley says in a new report, while Germany's Scope Ratings notes that securitization conditions in Greece are improving.

Morgan Stanley sees that while steps have been taken to drastically reduce Greek banks' bad loans, several obstacles remain in their way. The international bank's report on Monday followed meetings between Morgan Stanley officials and representatives from the country's four systemic banks, as well as from Grivalia, the Bank of Greece and the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund.

Greece's debt agency is to announce the country's return to the bond markets, with a five-year syndicated issue that may be announced within the day, sources indicated on Monday.

The state aims to raise 2 billion euros from the issue.