Modest losses on European markets, with similar trends on the Greek stock exchange. The tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the U.S. have led to rising oil prices and some profit-taking in equity positions.
Brent crude is back at $97.52, the VIX/CBOE is marginally above 16 points, and S&P 500 futures are down 0.12%.
With the DAX 30 at 24,893 (-0.34%), the CAC 40 at 8,165 (-0.54%) , and the EuroStoxx Banks at 269.77 (-1.11%), the session’s performance on Euronext Athens is quite encouraging.
Although the session opened with a downward gap, with the first sell orders for bank stocks placed between 2,713.58 and 2,706.93 points in the first 15 minutes, buyers stepped in, resulting in the DTR settling at 2,729.23 points shortly after 11:00 a.m.
As we noted in our pre-market commentary, confirmation of the 2,700-point level as support is needed (with a view to Friday’s “close”).
Buyers were in the lead for Piraeus Bank and National Bank after 10:50 a.m., at prices of 9.142 and 14.90 euros, respectively. Eurobank was at 3.96, and Alpha Bank shares were at 3.895 euros, with sellers holding a slight edge.
Turnover stood at 30 million euros (as of 11:15 a.m.), with 2.7 million shares traded and 12.25 million euros in pre-arranged orders.
Two significant blocks of PPC shares, 250,000 shares each, were traded at the same price of €21.48, just seconds apart. Pre-arranged orders that, according to a broker, are attributed to a repositioning of holdings, with all that this may imply for the future.
OTE shares are at €18.20, also with pre-arranged orders at €18.19 (between 11:05 and 11:10), possibly in the same context as PPC.
The FTSE 25 stood at 6,026 (-0.14%), with sellers in most blue chips and buyers in HelleniQ Energy (10.45), Allwyn (13.17), Metlen Energy & Metals (41.54), Jumbo (23.18), ElvalHalcor (5.38).
Cyprus shares were at 9.50 (0.53%), and Optima Bank shares at 10.53 (0.12%), with the active presence of buyers in the non-systemic part of the sector serving as an encouraging sign.
Among mid-caps, buyers were in the lead for ELLAKTOR (1.432), Alter Ego Media (5.39), Bally’s/Intralot (1.184), Trade Estates (2.045), Ideal Holdings (7.03), and AVAX (2.585).
The ratio of stocks with positive to negative performance stood at 44 to 57, reflecting the prevailing sentiment during the first hour of trading.