Uncertainty and volatility persist in the markets, as a meeting before the end of May is not on the horizon, nor is the immediate conclusion of any agreement—let alone the details of such an agreement.
In the futures markets, traders may be "pricing in" lower risk in the medium term, but they remain quite cautious in the short term.
Earlier, (futures) oil prices stood at $94.78 for Brent and $91.25 for WTI. U.S. Treasury yields were at 4.499% for the 10-year and 5.023% for the 30-year. Meanwhile, the VIX/CBOE edged up 2.64% to 16.78 points.
Uncertainty, as one broker noted, since a “good peace” usually differs greatly from a “bad peace” (which has not yet been achieved either). Indeed, the markets cannot accurately assess the consequences of this three-month period, given that they will likely be more severe for Europe—where, again, they will vary among Eurozone members.
This approach explains—in part—the divergence of the Greek stock market from most European markets, due to its combined banking-heavy nature and “shallowness.”
In the penultimate session of May, with a positive monthly “balance,” measured profit-taking was expected. Indeed, since sellers dominated European bank stocks, the trend on Euronext Athens was a foregone conclusion.
The EuroStoxx Banks index closed at 270.63 (-0.60%), and the DTR at 2,683.05 (-1.89%), with consistent selling pressure across all four systemic stocks. With a 6.44% monthly change, the partial consolidation of positions is normal, taking into account Friday’s rebalancing and Monday’s holiday.
It is also normal for the additional reason that part of the liquidity “released” from PPC’s rights offering is being reinvested in the stock in an attempt to replenish the shares it did not acquire—through the “order book” process.
The flow into the stock continues today, resulting in a new rise to 22 euros, with a market capitalization of 13.118 billion, challenging even the third position held by National Bank of Greece at 13.519 billion. With a 20.7% gain in May, it is the index’s top performer for the month.
Some position-taking, beyond banks and in blue chips such as GEK TERNA (42.12), Cenergy Holdings (24.80), Viohalco (20.05), but with net buyers in Motor Oil (27.02), HelleniQ Energy (10.19), Metlen Energy & Metals (40.92).
Trading value earlier stood at 175 million euros ( * ), with 40.7 million euros in block trades. At 12:48 p.m., a large block trade of 1 million PPC shares was executed at 21.79 euros.
KRI KRI (25.70), PPA at a new high of 38.95, Qualco (5.95), and EXAE also at a new high of 7.40 euros stand out among the FTSEMidCap stocks.
( * ) shortly before 3:00 p.m.