The Greek stock market is in “repression”, as evidenced by the stagnation picture it has shown this week. Traders settled for selective moves and stayed away from the high rhythms of the international markets. Athens did not “seize” the opportunity yesterday, when the major markets moved to record levels, and was left today to tune in to their corrective tendencies.

Specifically, in Friday’s (20/9) session, the General Index declined by 3.2 points or -0.22% to close at 1,425.19, moving between 1,422.93 (low of the day) and 1,432.23 (high of the day). It held the positive sign on a weekly basis (+0.42%), and since the beginning of 2024 it has strengthened by +10.21%.

The domestic market remained stagnant in the “zone” of 1,420-1,430, with the upper range of the above area proving to be a durable resistance point. Turnover “shot up” today, to 165 million euros, mainly due to the inflows – outflows from the changes in the weightings of the FTSE Russell indices. The triple closing of derivatives and the increased packages, largely involving Eurobank, ETE and TERNA Energy, also played a role in boosting trading activity.

Motor Oil shares came under strong pressure, retreating to year lows. National Bank, Titan, Coca Cola and Autohellas also recorded significant losses. On the other hand, the AIA staged a reaction after a multi-day downward streak, while Metlen and Viohalco moved upwards.

The rebalancing, triple witching and investor defense

Athens did not benefit sufficiently from the Federal Reserve’s drastic 50 basis point rate cut, as was the case in major foreign exchanges. It continued to move in a narrow price range in the absence of positive catalysts. In fact, some stocks continue to underperform, with current valuations characterized as attractive.

The defensive stance of the domestic market is largely due to the “load” of around €1.1 billion that it is being asked to carry. The 10% placement of National Bank will “absorb” about EUR 700 million, the sale of 4.8% of Bank of Cyprus will need about another EUR 100 million, while the capital increase of Cenergy that follows needs about another EUR 200 million, which will have to be raised from the market.

There is a noticeable increase in turnover, with pre-arranged transactions being the main “backbone”. As the dark room column explains, “it is obvious that large institutional portfolios are taking positions to manage any breakout in our market after the long period of inactivity and accumulation of forces.”

A rebalancing of the FTSE Global Equity indices was scheduled for today, which brought significant inflows. As a reminder, the six-monthly index review resulted in Cenergy being upgraded to the FTSE Emerging Europe Large Cap index and Viohalco being downgraded to the FTSE Emerging Mid Cap index. Intralot was also added to the Mid Cap and the FTSE All-World index. As a result, the number of Greek stocks comprising the FTSE All-World Index will rise to 29. The changes will come into effect on Monday 23 September.

We also had the simultaneous expiry of derivatives (triple witching) on indices and equities in the September series. There was movement in the shares of Viohalco, Lavipharm and Attica Bank, which announced their first half results yesterday, after the close of the trading session. ADMIE was also in the spotlight due to developments with the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection, and Ideal Holdings in view of a major deal in the pipeline.

International markets recover after record highs

The start of monetary easing by the Federal Reserve has begun to bear “fruit” in the stock markets, with Wall Street first and best. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 reached new all-time highs, with the industrial index breaking the 42,000-point “barrier” and the latter exceeding 5,700 points for the first time on record. A bearish open today as the major indices correct after yesterday’s record highs.

Sellers intensify their moves in European markets, a day after touring record levels. The Stoxx 600 is trading at -1.5%, between -0.9% and -1.4% for the other major stock indexes on the Old Continent. Worth mentioning is yesterday’s historic high for the German DAX, which “touched” the 19,000 mark for the first time.

Mixed picture on the Asian stock markets. The Japanese Nikkei index recorded a “jump” of more than 600 points, or +1.67%, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong following with an equally strong rise. On the flip side, Chinese equities moved into downward territory. Among other things, traders weighed in on the decisions of central banks in China and Japan, which kept interest rates unchanged.