The escalating conflict in the Middle East has heavily impacted the Athens Stock Exchange, with the General Index opening down nearly 4% on Monday, March 2. The attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, followed by Iran’s retaliatory strikes, have raised fears of a full-scale war and sent oil prices surging.
European markets are also under pressure, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index down 1.7%, while Wall Street futures indicate losses of 1.5–2%. In Athens, the General Index plunged 3.97% to 2,187.29 points, marking the day’s low, after reaching a high of 2,271.25 points earlier.
Despite February ending with modest losses of 1.61%, the Greek market remains up 7.4% for the year so far. Bank stocks fell 5.22% in February but are up 11.76% year-to-date. Trading activity spiked above €700 million last Friday (Feb. 27) due to MSCI index rebalancing.
The week ahead is packed with corporate earnings releases and economic assessments from international rating agencies. Companies reporting include OPAP, Noval Property, Bank of Greece, and Mermeren Kombinat on Monday; ElvalHalcor and Optima Bank on Tuesday; Cenergy and Lamda Development on Wednesday; and CrediaBank on Thursday. Capital Markets Day events are scheduled for Piraeus Bank on March 5 and Bank of Cyprus on March 3.
Rating updates for Greece will start with DBRS on March 6 (BBB, stable), followed by Moody’s on March 13 (Baa3, stable) and Scope Ratings on March 20 (BBB, positive).
Global markets remain on edge as Wall Street futures experience significant volatility, European indices trade deep in the red, and oil prices rally amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets showed mixed results, with gains in China offset by losses in Japan and Hong Kong.
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