European markets continue to rise, with attention focused on developments centered on Iran and guided by the futures market on Wall Street.
Traders want to see the “glass as half full” as the end of May (and the five-month “close”) approaches, with oil prices, bond yields, and leading indicators trending downward.
The (futures) price of Brent is down 1.84% to $95.04, while S&P 500 stock futures are up 0.34% to 7,548 points.
This trend, in the short term, gives longs an advantage to push higher, with buying in DAX30, CAC40, and other stocks, while the EuroStoxx Banks index remains firmly in positive territory. At 273.58 (0.56%), this facilitates buying activity in Athens, as the DTR gains 1.21% to 2,718 points.
The General Index remained firmly in positive territory, trading in the range of 2,683–2,734 points, with the low recorded shortly after 11:00 a.m. From that point in the session onward, buyers first absorbed the supply and then gradually pushed the index up to 2,734 —around 12:45 p.m. Almost simultaneously, positions were partially secured with the re-entry into all four systemic stocks. It is expected that part of the liquidity “released” from PPC’s rights issue—and credited to the codes—is once again contributing to the rise. For a 6-for-6 rally led by the banking sector, there is a continuous upward momentum from PPC and buy orders in top blue-chip stocks.
Turnover is nearly €150 million at 2:00 p.m., with €12 million in pre-arranged orders and 14.9 million shares traded—9.3 million of which are in the banking sector.
DEI shares remained firmly in first place in the relevant ranking today, with any bid up to €21.28 (around 10:55 a.m.) being absorbed with notable ease and a new round of buying pushing the price up to €21.84.
Alpha Bank shares are at 3.872 (1.89%), Piraeus Bank at 9.032 (1.44%), National Bank at 14.905 (0.38%), and Eurobank at 3.984 (1.83%).
DEI and the "big four" systemic banks are driving the market higher, a trend extending across a broad segment of large-cap stocks.
From GEK TERNA (43.20), Allwyn (12.73), and Jumbo (22.90), Motor Oil (36.80) to TITAN (48.96), Cenergy Holdings (25.56), the “big players” are active, resulting in the FTSE25 returning above 6,000 points.
The FTSEMidCap is also up, as buyers are dominating the index’s “heavyweight” stocks. ADMIE (3.99), Hellenic Exchanges (7.39), Ellaktor (1.436), and Intracom Holdings (3.79) show the largest changes.
Among the pre-arranged orders, two involving Optima Bank shares are reportedly due to a reduction in Intracom Holdings’ position, with the second order injecting additional capital into its coffers.
EIS (1.98), Iktinos (0.3715), ELTON(1.935), and EYATH (4.45) stand out among the mid/small caps.