A session marked by clear caution, with the Athens Stock Exchange’s main indices (General Index, FTSE25) trading consistently in negative territory, while the ongoing volatility has begun to wear down day traders, a trend reflected in trading volume (today’s being the lowest in the last six sessions).
Buyers’ moves were highly selective among large-cap stocks, while at the day’s lows, declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by more than three to one, a ratio that improved somewhat later on.
Sellers had the final say in the closing auctions, pushing the main ATHEX indices to their intraday lows, along with four large-cap stocks.
The situation in the Middle East remains precarious, as military operations continue on both sides —between Israel and Lebanon, as well as between the U.S. and Iran. However, diplomatic efforts are currently underway to prevent further escalation and bring an end to the war. All of the above factors are expected to keep oil prices high or even drive them higher.
On the other hand, Donald Trump, who is in the news every single day, is making a strong comeback on the trade front, proposing new tariffs on imports from 60 countries, in a move that could trigger a new round of global trade tensions.
According to Bloomberg,“the United States is proposing to impose new tariffs, of at least 10%, on imports from approximately 60 trading partners.”
Under the proposal by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, a 10% tariff would be imposed on products from Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom, among others. For larger economies such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Switzerland, a higher rate of 12.5% is proposed.
Donald Trump stated today that“Iran has agreed not to acquire a nuclear weapon, while he has been troubled by Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing conflict with Lebanon.”
The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 indices closed at new all-time highs in last night’s trading on Wall Street, while the Japanese Nikkei followed suit this morning in setting records.
Back “at home,” the public offering for Lamda Development ’s new seven-year bond issue, worth up to €350 million with a yield range of 4.20%–4.50%, began today. The process will be completed on Friday, June 5, while the bonds will be listed for trading in the Athens Stock Exchange’s fixed-income securities category on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
On the other hand, according to Eurobank Equities’ morning report, “the Stoxx index review has included CrediaBank’s stock in the STOXX Greece, STOXX Developed and Emerging Markets, STOXX Emerging Markets, STOXX Eastern Europe, STOXX Balkan, STOXX All Europe, and STOXX Global Total Market indices. Ellaktor is being removed from the indices. The changes will take effect at the close of trading on Friday, June 19.”
Following the recent rebalancing and corporate actions that have taken place, as well as those yet to come, one of the issues on analysts’ minds is the search for “cheap” stocks that may be available on the domestic stock exchange.
Of course, the challenge here is not only to identify stocks whose valuations remain attractive and warrant a higher market price, but also how many analysts are willing to consider stocks outside the narrow confines of large-cap stocks, which the vast majority of foreign portfolios do not include.
According to Manos Hatzidakis (Beta Sec.), “the search for ‘cheap’ stocks is not a static valuation exercise, but a dynamic selection process guided by the sustainability of profitability, the quality of balance sheets, and the ability to create value over time. In this context, portfolio construction must be based on diversification, discipline, and a clear investment rationale, combining companies with strong fundamentals, attractive valuations, and a reliable dividend policy.”
In this case, and according to another analyst—a contributor to this column who is not known for his most optimistic forecasts—“in the large-cap segment, which continues to capture the ‘lion’s share’ of trading volume and investor interest, most valuations appear to be ‘peaking,’ following the latest upward surge and as the first-quarter earnings season wraps up, among those listed companies that ‘bothered’ to report results. In the short term, attention will remain focused on upcoming capital increases and bond issuances, as well as potential IPOs on the Athens Stock Exchange, at least until a deal is announced that will lift the entire sector higher due to comparative valuations.”
On the other hand, and according to information from brokerage firms,“an increasing number of foreign fund managers are asking domestic brokerages about potential political risk. Concerns are evident regarding potential moves or decisions that would weigh on balance sheets—primarily those of banks—as well as the sustainability of credit expansion, which is expected to show two sides. Strong growth in the first half of the year and a slowdown in the final months of the year.”
“Increased liquidity from upcoming dividend distributions, corporate announcements, and new all-time highs on Wall Street are supporting the domestic market. Provided the international climate remains stable, the general index could move toward the 2,400-point range, with banks and the energy sector remaining the focus of investor interest. “Developments in the Middle East and their impact on energy prices remain a key source of volatility, while expectations regarding the future path of interest rates continue to influence investor behavior,”notes Kyklos Securities.
Staying with the Athens Stock Exchange, the movement of key indices into negative territory has reignited caution regarding mid- and small-cap stocks — a scenario all too familiar given the chronic ailments of the Greek stock market.
With negative signs and sellers “picking up the pace,” the major European markets saw active traders monitoring the resurgence of tensions in the Middle East and oil prices.
A shift in the market landscape, with rising yields across the bond market for all issuers. More specifically, the yield on the U.S. 2-year note is climbing to 4.07%, and the yield on the corresponding 10-year note to 4.48% (the yield on the 30-year note is at 4.98%). The yield on the Greek 10-year note stands at 3.685%.
Staying with government bonds, the PDMA held an auction today for 52-week Treasury bills totaling €400 million. The yield stood at 2.41%, compared to 1.97% in the corresponding auction on March 4, 2026. Total bids amounted to €1 billion, oversubscribing the amount offered by 2.5 times.
The General Index remained in negative territory throughout the session, falling to 2,353.2 points (-0.90%). At 5:00 p.m., it stood at 2,353.2 (-0.90%) and closed at a new low of 2,352.75 points, with daily losses of 0.92%.
Turnover stood at 217.1 million, of which 27.1 million related to pre-arranged trades (BOCHGR, ALWN, ACAG, PPC, EKTER, OTE, ADMIE, ELTON, EUROB, TRASTOR, LAMDA, ALPHA, PIR), with PPC and PIR accounting for 37% of the total gross trading value.
In the case of DEI accounted for 27.3% of turnover.
Of the total turnover of 217.1 million, 199.2 million related to trades in FTSE 25 shares.