Investor sentiment is positive in Frankfurt and Paris, with S&P 500 futures trading at a premium in New York, while in Athens, buyers are returning to the 2,365-point level.
The Israel-Lebanon agreement triggered the return of long positions following yesterday’s correction, with the likelihood that this is yet another episode in the broader Middle East conflict. Obviously, traders are aware of the situation and how fluid it remains from day to day—even within the course of a single trading session—yet they have adjusted their strategy accordingly.
With S&P 500 futures at 7,545 points, the DAX 30 at 24,939 (0.54%), and the EuroStoxx Banks index at 271.45 (1.17%), the first 45 minutes of trading on Euronext Athens are proceeding normally.
Order flow has been moderate from the start until now—with a turnover of 23.2 million at 11:15 a.m., comprising 2.6 million shares traded and 7.9 million via pre-arranged orders.
Proportional to the turnover, the value of the blocks reflects the first hour of yesterday’s session, with two large blocks in PPC shares. At €21.42 for 112,000 shares (at 11:42 a.m.) and at €21.43 for 243,000 shares (at 10:44 a.m.). A third, smaller trade took place at 11:07 a.m. for 20,000 shares at €21.42, and shortly thereafter for 25,000 Allwyn shares at €13.335.
Following the pre-arranged orders placed immediately after the completion of PPC’s rights issue, reinforcing the views of those brokers who speak of a repositioning, a convergence of sellers and buyers, with the most likely scenario being a subsequent upward cycle for the stock.
First in the relevant ranking, with orders at 21.32-21.48, just 0.02 points from the top.
The Bank Index fluctuated between 2,685 and 2,705 points, with buyers dominating in three of the four systemic banks. Piraeus Bank shares are at 8.92 (-0.54%), National Bank at 14.75 (0.32%), Eurobank at 3.917 (0.44%), and Alpha Bank at 3.812 (0.45%).
Buyers returned to Optima Bank, with orders at 10.29–10.50 euros.
Trading volume was relatively higher in Allwyn—at €13.23–13.40—driven in part by the announcement of quarterly financial results.
Announcement of a share buyback program of up to €150 million, in addition to the minimum dividend of €1 per share—the bottom line for investors.
With net buyers in Metlen (40.96), Jumbo (23.16), Cenergy Holdings (25.08), ElvalHalcor (5.3),GEK TERNA (42.34) among the large caps, and ELLAKTOR (1.49), ADMIE (4), Bally’s/Intralot (1.181) as examples from the FTSE MidCap stocks.
The ratio of stocks with positive/negative performance stands at 59/37 as of 11:20 a.m.