Developments in the Persian Gulf are capturing the attention of investors, following Trump’s latest message.
According to what Trump wrote on Truth Social, the final details of the agreement with Iran will be announced soon. If and when developments leading up to the market open—initially in Asia—confirm this cautious optimism, then longs will have the advantage for the first trading session of the week.
It is the last week of May, the third month that the crisis in the Middle East has continued, with consequences that are more or less well known. This foreshadows what will follow until some semblance of normality begins to gradually return.
The IMF warns of an explosive rise in public debt, while Yannis Stournaras speculates that the ECB will raise interest rates at its June meeting. The Fund leaves little room for misinterpretation of what follows, but the governor of the Bank of Greece, one of the more level-headed members of the Frankfurt council—and a long-serving one at that—knows that a 25-basis-point hike (to 2.25%) will be hard to avoid.
These are, in summary, the facts as of Sunday noon (you never know...) with investors coming off a week of positive returns, both on Wall Street and on the major European stock exchanges.
Investors on Euronext Athens are also on the rise after a solid week, with PPC’s capital increase dominating the scene, but also with several significant developments emerging from general meetings, financial results announcements, and business-level processes and developments.
The General Index stood at 2,271.72 points, the DTR at 2,569.92, the FTSE 25 at 5,759.99, and the FTSE Mid Caps at 3,007.42.
Among the seven major shareholders of DEH, following the capital increase, Giorgos Fintikakis was listed, accounting for 60% of the share capital. The most significant development concerns the labor-intensive processes for the AI Giga Factory in Kozani, one of the main reasons for the “American factor’s” active involvement in the capital increase and its spectacular outcome.
For traders, the focus is on the listing of the new shares on Tuesday and PPC’s jump in the market capitalization rankings.
At €20.60 per share, there isasufficient“buffer”to absorb the supply coming from traders, but the weekly trend will depend on demand from those who either missed out on the process or did not acquire the number of shares they had planned.
ADMIE is coming in like a... trailer for PPC. Ahead of the capital increase, the stock is “racing” up 12.52% to 3.64 euros, with the presence of “hot money” evident
Among the week’s highlights: the announcements made by Evangelos Mytilineos at the Metlen Energy & Metals general meeting, with George providing the details of the plan to achieve an EBITDA target of 2 billion. The stock is at €38.86, down marginally on a weekly basis, with Morgan Stanley forecasting a price of €55.
The broader energy sector is in the spotlight, with Motor Oil set to announce quarterly results on Wednesday. The stock is at 34.62 (-2.04%), following the slight decline in oil prices. On the same day, Cenergy Holdings also reported a negative performance, with the stock at 24.88 euros.
Also in the spotlight this week are the announcements regarding Credia Bank-Europe Holdings, with the Athens Stock Exchange immediately “pricing in” the details of the agreement for the former’s absorption by the latter. Intracom Holdings also benefited from this development, while announcements are expected this week from Bally’s Intralot regarding the outcome of its bid for Evoke in the United Kingdom.
For the last week of May, the “release” of liquidity from PPC’s capital increase and how much of it will flow back into the market must be taken into account. The banking sector is generally considered the main beneficiary, though this remains to be confirmed (or not).
At the close of trading on Friday (5/29), the latest MSCI changes will take effect. The FTSE/Russell index rebalancing is scheduled for June (6/19).
Finally, among the companies announcing quarterly results, KRI KRI (May 27) and Lavipharm (May 28) also stand out.