Relief has been brought to the domestic investment community by the end of the rumour of a special tax on bank profits. The… happy news came from London and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was attending the proceedings of the Greek Investment Conference, organised by HHSE and Morgan Stanley.
Specifically, in Monday’s (2/12) session, the General Index gained 30.84 points or +2.21% and closed at 1,424.33 points. The high for the day was found at 1,426.40 points and the low for the day at 1,399.30 points. Today’s rally was the strongest in “depth” of more than a year, namely since mid-November 2023. The same is true for banks, with the sector index “climbing” over +4%.
Eurobank led the buying spree in the sector, with the rest of the systemic following in equally bullish territory. Strong gains were also registered by some blue chips with weight on the board, such as Metlen, PPC, Motor Oil, HELLENiQ ENERGY, and Viohalco Group shares. Domestic market capitalization returned to levels above 100 billion euros.
In London the “radars” of investors
A year-end rally is a key scenario for analysts, as part of the window dressing in portfolios that is common at the end of long periods. November proved to be mildly positive for the Athens Exchange, with the General Index gaining +0.78% every month, but starting December from levels below 1,400 points.
The black spot in the domestic market was until recently the banks. The sectoral index lost -3.57% in the last three days and retreated below 1,150 points, close to the 10-month low reached at the end of last October.
All eyes of the investment community are on the two-day (December 2 and 3) “Greek Investment Conference”, organized by HHSE in cooperation with Morgan Stanley in London. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also present, they categorically denied the imposition of a special tax on banks, similar to the one imposed on refineries a few months ago.
Next Friday, Scope Ratings will publish its “oracle” for the Greek economy. In its most recent rating (July 15), the German agency upgraded the outlook to positive from stable, while keeping the credit rating unchanged at BBB. Third-quarter GDP data are also expected from ELSTAT on December 6.
Premiere today for the shares of Europe Holdings – formerly Klukinas Lappas – on the board of the Athens Exchange. More specifically, approximately 70.362 million new shares, worth EUR 0.26 each, were admitted to trading, resulting from the share capital increase due to the merger with the absorption of Intracom Properties. At the same time, 24.177 million old shares were cancelled, with the new total number of listed shares of Europe Holdings amounting to 86.4 million shares.
Nervousness in euro markets
Back in full action for Wall Street, after the Thanksgiving holiday and the semi-holiday of Black Friday. November ended with new records for the Dow Jones and the S&P 500, which proved to be the best month of the year. The industrial index crossed the 45,000 mark for the first time – albeit temporarily. Today’s session started in mixed territory, with the Dow Jones correcting, but the S&P 500 holding on to historic highs.
Continued swings in the European stock markets, with risk appetite drastically reduced due to the intense political uncertainty prevailing in France. The Stoxx 600 is up +0.2%. Germany’s DAX is higher by +1%, while the French CAC 40, on the other hand, loses -0.7%.
Upward trends prevailed on Asian stock exchanges. The Japanese Nikkei index gained more than 350 points – i.e. almost +1% – while the Chinese Shenzhen index moved higher by +1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia closed at a new all-time high.
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