The Greek stock market closed in the red, but far from the day’s lows, in a session marked by strong import pressure. The “breach” of 1,430 points proved to be temporary, with sellers gradually “downshifting” and eventually calmness prevailed on the board.

Specifically, in Wednesday’s (4/9) session, the General Index declined by 10.3 points or -0.71% to close at 1,435.79 points, close to the daily high of 1,436.20 points. The low for the day was 1,426.87 points. This was the second consecutive decline in the Xetra after Tuesday’s marginal -0.01% drop. At +11.03%, the yield of the GD within 2024 was formed.

Turnover remained in “shallow waters”, although it was accompanied by a number of pre-agreed transactions. A mega package was traded through the Exchange shortly after the start of the session and involved Motor Oil. More specifically, 520 thousand pieces were traded at a price of 21.7 euros, with the total value of the transaction “touching” 11.285 million euros.

Banks led today’s losses and “pushed” the domestic market down overall due to their heavier weighting. National Bank fell the most, while among the blue chips, PPC, Metlen, Hellaktor and Autohellas stood out due to their strong decline. On the flip side, Attica Bank continued its rally, breaking above 10 euros with speed gained from its merger with Pankritia Bank.

Increasing pressure – Where traders are focusing

Strong pressure was exerted on Athens Avenue by the new correction in international stock markets, which reminded of…”Black Monday”. The shadow of recession hovers over Wall Street, leading to a “domino” of losses. In fact, the fact that some of the market’s leading indices, such as the Dow Jones in the US and the DAX in Germany, were at historic highs until recently, gives room for further downward movement, with all that this implies for the Greek stock market.

The headlines on the OPAP stock fell today, in the wake of the financial results announced by the listed company after the close of yesterday’s trading session. Among other things, it reported a +3.2% increase in net profitability in the first half of the year, while the Board of Directors approved the distribution of EUR 0.6 per share as an interim dividend for the 2024 financial year. Quest Holdings is next, while the coming week is rich in announcements (Aegean, AIA, Lamda Development, ElvalHalcor, Fourlis).

Aegean was also in the spotlight, after acquiring a significant stake in Volotea. The initial investment is estimated at €25 million. In the first phase, Aegean will acquire 13% of the Spanish group’s share capital, while in the next phase the airline’s stake will rise to 21%.

In the first phase, the Aegean will become the majority shareholder in the first half of the year.
Traders are waiting for DBRS’ verdict on the Greek economy, with the Canadian house rating the country ‘BBB’ (Low) and a stable trend. Its decision will be announced next Friday evening (6 September). Of greater interest, however, is Moody’s “oracle” a week later (September 13). The American house rates Greece as “Ba1” with a stable outlook and is the only one that has not given Greece an investment grade.

Internationally, the investment community is focusing on data on the US economy, which will be released later this week. The focus will be on the new US employment data, which will largely determine the size of the rate cut decided by the Federal Reserve. It is recalled that the central bank meets on the weekend of 17-18 September.