Buyers are cautiously returning to European markets, with attention focused on the futures market on Wall Street.
Oil prices ease slightly, while stocks rise modestly. Brent crude stands at $93.28, the discount on S&P 500 futures is marginal, and in Europe, the DAX 30 gains 0.32% to 25,224 points.
In contrast to Frankfurt, investors in Athens are proceeding with a staggered partial locking in of positions, with controlled sell-offs in bank stocks and blue chips.
This was the most likely scenario—pressure at the start of the session—following last week’s positive momentum—the significant gains in May—and taking into account yesterday’s holiday.
With increased order flow and pre-arranged orders in the first half-hour, as if in the “wake” of Friday’s restructuring.
Trading was brisk in shares of PPC and GEK TERNA,as well as in significant blocks of National Bank and Piraeus Bank, setting the trend for the General Index at 2,364 (0.34%), the DTR at 2,696 (-0.14%), and the FTSE25 at 6,004 (-0.24%).
Turnover stood at €72.5 million, with 7.6 million shares traded, featuring a new round of inflows into PPC shares and some “locking in” of positions in bank stocks, specifically blue-chip bellwethers.
As we noted in our pre-session commentary, on Friday—the rebalancing day—trading in PPC shares alone totaled €244 million, with €194 million of that occurring in auctions. These were primarily “new net inflows,” most likely from fund managers who did not acquire the number of shares they wanted—through the rights offering—or even from new players who, due to PPC, are active on Euronext Athens.
Before the market opened, following the announcement of quarterly results by GEK TERNA’s management —with a spectacular 33.2% rise in adjusted net profits—the first orders for Safe Bulkers shares were in the range of 6.85–6.95 euros. Liquidity and volatility will determine the success (or failure) of the shipping company’s listing—a bellwether for the strategy other Greek shipowners will follow.
With a new round of orders across all three Viohalco Group shares, the expansion process (in terms of market capitalization) continues, with Viohalco at €21.10, Cenergy Holdings at €25.74, and ElvalHalcor at €5.22.
Buyers also dominated in Motor Oil (37.60) and HelleniQ Energy (10.48), as both are benefiting from recent developments.
The ratio of shares with positive to negative signs stands at 58/42, with new highs for Piraeus Bank, HelleniQ Energy, Viohalco, as well as Real Consulting, EKTER, and KRI KRI.
Trading volume via block trades stood at €35.5 million (mainly in National Bank and Piraeus Bank) at 11:15 a.m.