The Greek stock market had its best session in a “deep” month today (23/9). After a sluggish start, buyers turned active with banks spearheading the rally, which gained more than +2%. In this way, the X.A. broke out of the “bottleneck” of 1,420-1,430 points, in which it had been “trapped”. Moreover, it presented a better picture compared to other European stock exchanges.
Specifically, in Monday’s session the General Index gained 17.34 points or +1.22% to close at 1,442.53 points, close to the daily high of 1,444.13 points. The day’s low was 1,421.91 points. This was the highest close since September 6 (1,443.13 points). Going into the last week of the 9-month period, the GD is up +0.79% in September and +11.55% since the start of this year.
Banks led the way, on a special day for the sector due to the opening of Tr. Cyprus on the board of the Athens Exchange. The stock rose more than +4% and reached over 5 euros at the highs of the day. Among the banks, Ethniki stood out, as the placement procedures are proceeding at a fast pace. Other systemic banks also recorded notable gains.
Transaction activity (over EUR 100 million) was visibly enhanced, with the value of the packages exceeding EUR 25 million. A special mention for Intralot due to the package, worth 17 million euros, which was traded during the first hour of trading. At the same time, a large package, worth EUR 3,817 million, changed hands at Piraeus.
PPC “shone” in the blue chips, as it was above 12 euros after about 5 months (mid-April). Metlen also presented a good picture, which “touched” 35 euros again, while Jumbo also recorded a strong rise. A rally of more than +7% for ABAX, but also for Intracom Holdings close to +5%, with the latter being the buyer of Intralot’s mega block. At the same time, they corrected mid caps that were outperforming such as Optima Bank, Profile and Ideal.
“Key” to increasing turnover
“Arrhythmia” has been prevailing in the domestic market lately, which is largely due to the retention of capital by investors in order to have liquidity in view of the placement in ETE, the listing of Tr. Cyprus listing and Cenergy’s capital increase, which is just around the corner.
The 1,445-1,450 area is where the most critical resistance points are located, according to analysts. The prerequisite for approaching the above levels is a boost in trading activity. Last Friday, turnover “soared” to 210 million euros due to rebalancing in the FTSE Russell indices, surpassing the 100-day moving average of 117 million euros.
It is worth noting that trading in Bank of Cyprus began today on the stock exchange, with the opening price of 443.5 million shares set at EUR 4.78. This follows the delisting from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 19 September. The bank is in 15th place in the capitalisation table, with a valuation of 2.217 billion euros. At the same time, it has announced its intention to proceed with a €25 million buyback of its own shares through the Athens Stock Exchange.
ADMIE remains on the investment radar after Greece and Cyprus signed an MoU to restart the electricity interconnection project between the two countries. The Greek parliament will ratify an amendment to the agreement, increasing Athens’ share of the project for geopolitical risk to 50%.
The corporate results “dance” continues this week, with Profile announcing its half-yearly performance before the start of today’s session. This is followed by, among others, ADMIE on Wednesday (25/9), GEK Terna, Terna Energy and EYDAP on Thursday (26/9) and PPA and EYATH on Friday (27/9). The relevant deadline for the listed companies is next Monday 30 September.
Bullish trends in international markets
Monday’s session on Wall Street started in mildly positive territory, with the main indices gaining between +0.1% and +0.3%. The Dow Jones is coming off another all-time high. Five consecutive up weeks are counted by the S&P 500.
Buyers are turning up the heat on European stock markets, which were initially correcting. The Stoxx 600 is trading at +0.4%. Among the major indices of the Old Continent, the German DAX stands out with a rise of +0.7%. Today’s session ended with gains for most Asian stock exchanges, with investors digesting the decisions of the central banks in Beijing and Tokyo. Markets in Japan remained closed due to a public holiday.
