The Athens Stock Exchange returned to an upward “channel” and coordinated with the recovery effort of foreign stock markets, ending the three-day downward streak that preceded it. Buyers held the reins throughout the session and even kept the General Index in profit for a fourth consecutive week.

Specifically, in Friday’s (26/7) session, the GC gained 5.43 points or +0.37% to close at 1,469.25 points. It moved in a narrow price range, namely between 1,462.25 (low of the day) and 1,470.01 points (high of the day). On a weekly basis the index gained +0.33%, within July it moved up by +4.63% and this year’s performance “touches” +13.62%.

Energy stocks emerged as positive protagonists, with PPC and Metlen standing out. On the contrary, banking stocks continued their downward trajectory for the fourth consecutive day. Alpha Bank recorded strong losses, as it was burdened by the dividend cut of EUR 0.026 per share.

“Buyers also broke into Athens International Airport (AIA), Jumbo and Lamda Development, with the latter pushing close to recent record highs of 7.5 euros following the agreement to sell five plots of land for residential developments in Elliniko. The deal was warmly received by brokerages, which give Lamda strong upside potential.

Worth mentioning is the mega package that was traded through the X.A. shortly after 16:30 and which involved TERNA Energy. More specifically, 730 thousand pieces changed hands at a price of EUR 19.23, with the transaction amounting to EUR 14.037 million. The total volume of the packages today exceeded EUR 20 million, although the turnover remained low.

Bank dividends and results in focus

The 1,450-1,460 points proved to be a resilient support area, at a time when the major indices in Europe and Wall Street received a strong shock, recording daily losses not seen since 2022 (S&P 500 and Nasdaq). However, Athens corrected judiciously and remained close to 1,480 points, which it recently captured.

Alpha Bank “cut” a dividend of EUR 0.026 per share today, with payment set for Thursday, August 1. At the same time, yesterday’s AGM of National Bank approved the distribution of a gross dividend of EUR 0.36 per share. On Monday 29 July it will be traded without the dividend entitlement, with payment to start on Friday 2 August. Recall that the banks are distributing dividends for the first time in 16 years, having received the necessary approvals from the relevant supervisory mechanism (SSM).

Next week’s agenda is rich in terms of the first half and second quarter financial results of listed companies, with a focus on systemic banks. Metlen and Motodynamiki premiered yesterday, on Monday (29/7) it is the turn of EFAE and on Tuesday (30/7) Entersoft and MIG. Piraeus, Eurobank and Titan follow on Wednesday (31/7), followed by National Bank and Optima Bank on Thursday (1/8) and Alpha Bank on Friday (2/8).

Rebound in international markets

Mixed trends prevail today on Europe’s main stock markets, with the indices in the UK (FTSE 100) and France (CAC 40) standing out with gains of more than +1%. On the other hand, between wear and tear are the Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35. Traders are picking up the pieces after the two-day sell-off, keeping their attention focused on corporate results.

On Wall Street, the major indices are recovering, led by the Dow Jones, which is up about +1.5%, or over 500 points. Despite the better-than-estimated performance of US growth, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq remained on a downward trajectory yesterday, a day after the worst sell-off in two years. At 2.5%, the Fed’s preferred US inflation rate (PCE) index came in at 2.5%, raising expectations that rate cuts will begin soon.

Asian bourses were mixed, a day after the sell off that “plunged” the Japanese Nikkei by more than -3% and which drove some indices to their lowest level in months. China’s Shenzhen Component stood out with a +1.45% gain, while key indices in India traded between +1.6 and +1.8%.