The mood is gloomy outside, but even gloomier inside, with sellers calling the shots from Frankfurt, Paris, and London all the way to Athens.
Oil prices are rising again, along with the major leading indicators and the odds that a U.S. ground intervention is becoming more likely.
The VIX/CBOE is heading toward 30 points, Brent crude is in the $103–$108 range, the U.S. 10-year yield is at 4.483%, and S&P 500 futures are down 0.47%.
A domino effect of pressure from the stock and oil markets to the debt markets, marked by the rise in the yield on the German 10-year bond above the threshold (back to 2011 levels), with all that this may imply for the final session of the week.
From 6 , 447 points, the S&P 500 is now down 5.84% in March amid the conflicts in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf; the monthly correction for the DAX 30 stands at 12%, 10.26% for the CAC40, and on the Athens Stock Exchange, the General Index has recorded monthly losses of 11.24% and 4.57% since the start of 2026.
The mood was negative from the pre-market session, with orders placed starting at 10:25 a.m. leaving no room for deviation.
Pre-set orders from sellers on all four systemic stocks, a new round of liquidations in key blue-chip stocks, with the announcement by Metlen Energy & Metals’ management further exacerbating the situation.
A steady flow of sell orders, with buy orders slightly or somewhat lower, as the Banking Index fell to 2,185 and the FTSE25 to around 5,100 points. Lower support levels were breached without significant resistance, with the majority of investors following the rule “don’t try to catch a falling knife.”
In practice, foreign fund managers are acting on the likelihood of the situation further escalating, resulting in greater turmoil and a very strong prospect of prices falling below 2,000 points. In any case, the latest news from the Persian Gulf does not support holding positions—exposure to the risk involved over the weekend.
The first orders for Metlen shares were at €33.30—following an “opening” with a downward gap and heavy selling down to €31.90.
Trading volume of nearly 800,000 shares at 2:00 p.m. indicates a selling trend for the stock, as the market reacted negatively to the postponement of the 2025 earnings announcement to April 9.
It topped the relevant ranking, with steady sellers at Piraeus Bank (6,758), followed by Alpha Bank (3,041) and Eurobank (3,251).
The exception was National Bank of Greece at 12.65 (0.18%). Significant losses were recorded for shares of Credia Bank (1.222), GEK TERNA (32.92), PPC (7.22), Allwyn (13.71), Cenergy Holdings (18.32) and others, as many prefer to sell shares that still carry a premium, possibly covering other positions they hold that are “open.”
Motor Oil (37.70) remained steady in positive territory with firm orders at 37–37.74 euros, and HelleniQ Energy at 9.48–9.68 euros with several periods in positive territory—the only two out of 21 blue chips bucking the overall downward trend.
Trading volume stood at 18.4 million shares, with 13.4 million shares in banking stocks. Trading volume reached 125 million euros—shortly after 2:00 p.m.—with 17.78 million euros via pre-arranged orders.
Only 17 stocks in positive territory, compared to 102 in negative territory—there is no doubt as to who has the upper hand...