The main indices of the Athens Stock Exchange remained firmly in positive territory today, with active traders on the ASE remaining completely consistent in their inconsistency — a volatility that characterizes the markets—and drawing confidence from the clear decline in oil prices, as Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, they pushed indices and valuations higher.
For those who insist on focusing on statistics, today’s trading session closed with the GDX at a 4-month high, with the next highest close recorded on February 4, 2026 (2,407.07 points).
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed the view that Israel and Iran will avoid new military actions for at least a week, following a phone call he had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite the improving climate, Bank of America remains cautious on U.S. stocks, recommending profit-taking, as 7 out of 10 historical “red flags” for a “bear market” have now been triggered, compared to 5 in April and 4 in March. Seven is also the average number of warning signs that have “flashed” in bear markets recorded since 1990. The firm estimates that valuations remain expensive, particularly in the technology sector, and maintains a target for the S&P 500 of 7,100 points by year-end, suggesting room for a correction from current levels.
Turning to domestic developments, large-cap stocks once again accounted for the lion’s share of trading volume and investor interest, with significant differences among them.
Disappointed and perhaps exposed for their assessments, most of those who argued that, “following the latest bull cycle, some of the liquidity circulating on the Athens Stock Exchange could seek ‘investment opportunities’ beyond the narrow confines of the FTSE25.”
For those with a strictly short-term investment horizon, aside from developments in the Middle East, attention will remain focused on this coming Friday, June 19.
It is worth noting that the June triple witching is scheduled for June 19, while the first position rollovers have begun on the Athens Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, the Stoxx index review will add CrediaBank shares to 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.
Additionally, the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) and FTSE Russell announced the results of the regular semi-annual review of the composition of the FTSE/ASE indices for the period November 2025 – April 2026. CrediaBank is being added to the FTSE25, while Sarantis is being moved to the FTSE/ATHEX Mid Cap. The weighting factors (Capping Factors) for the shares included in the indices will be calculated based on the closing prices of the trading session on Friday, June 12, 2026. All changes will take effect as of the trading session on June 22, 2026, and the rebalancing will take place on June 19, 2026.
On the other hand, according to data from the new AXIANumbers May 2026:
2,461 new client and registered intermediary accounts were created, compared to 2,801 new accounts in April, while collective client accounts as a whole (Registered Intermediaries’ Shares and Insurance Shares) held €6.64 billion (4.57% of the total portfolio value).
Foreign unit holders recorded inflows of €305.70 million in May 2026 (partly due to the PPC rights issue), in contrast to domestic unit holders, who recorded outflows of €305.70 million in May 2026 (this followed three consecutive months of outflows from foreign portfolios, specifically outflows of €80.87 million in April 2026, €60.93 million in March, and €95.38 million in February 2026).
The distribution of the portfolio value among unit holders stood at 68.53% for foreign unit holders and 31.47% for domestic unit holders.
The countries with the highest portfolio value (Client Units) for the month of May 2026 were the U.S. with a total portfolio value of €24.16 billion, Cyprus with a portfolio value of €13.51 billion, and Luxembourg with a portfolio value of €8.92 billion.
Foreign unit holders accounted for 71.6% of total transactions (purchases & sales) in May 2026 (compared to 68.8% the previous month), while domestic unit holders accounted for 28.4% of transactions (compared to 31.2% the previous month).
In light of the above, Manos Hatzidakis (Beta Sec.) notes, "the return of foreign capital, combined with intense activity in the primary market, are strong indications that the Athens Stock Exchange is in the process of upgrading its investment profile. Provided that positive inflows and the favorable international environment persist, the domestic market has the conditions to support both new listings and larger corporate transactions during the second half of the year.”
On the other hand, the issue of the free float of certain listed companies is also a topic of daily discussions, as changes to the listing and trading regime in the European capital market are expected in the near future, as part of the implementation of the Listing Act. Among the key changes is the reduction of the minimum required free float to 10%, subject to the relevant national transposition of the new rules. Euronext has already provided for the possibility of accepting a free float percentage lower than 25%, with a minimum threshold of 5%, while during the transitional period, the application of a 10% threshold is being considered in order to provide greater flexibility to companies seeking to list on the Stock Exchange. In essence, this announcement overturns the Kontopoulos Regulation, which set a 25% free float threshold, at least for companies listing with a valuation below €200 million (for listed companies with a market capitalization exceeding €200 million, the minimum free float percentage may be limited to 15%).
In any case, the final extension for improving the free float expires at the end of June, while in early July, the listed companies that continue to face the risk of being transferred to the “Supervision” category will be announced. Any requests that may be submitted will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The regulation refers to the average six-month dispersion.
Major European markets are showing mixed signals, with active traders focusing on developments in the Middle East, oil prices, bond market yields, and preparing for central bank announcements.
It is worth noting that, according to the economic calendar, the ECB’s upcoming meetings and announcements regarding its monetary policy are scheduled for June 11, July 23, September 10, October 29, and December 17, 2026.
The Fed’s corresponding meetings are scheduled for June 17, July 29, September 16, October 28, and December 9, 2026.
A new shift in the landscape, as bond market yields are moving toward a mild de-escalation for all issuers. More specifically, the yield on the U.S. 2-year bond has fallen to 4.14%, and that of the corresponding 10-year bond to 4.54% (the yield on the 30-year bond has risen to 5.03%). The yield on the Greek 10-year bond stands at 3.751%.
Staying with government bonds, the Greek government is planning a new market offering, appointing Alpha Bank, Barclays, Citi, Commerzbank, Nomura, and Societe Generale to act as joint lead managers for the reissue of the existing 10-year government bond maturing on June 16, 2036. The transaction involves a reissue of the security rather than a new bond, with the aim of further enhancing the marketability and size of this particular series. The offering is targeted at international investors and is expected in the near future, depending on prevailing market conditions.
According to Beta Sec., “on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., the U.S. consumer price index for May will be announced, while shortly thereafter the Bank of Canada will publish its interest rate decisions. On Thursday at 3:15 p.m., it will be the ECB’s turn to announce its decisions on eurozone interest rates, while shortly thereafter the U.S. producer price index for May will be released. On Friday, it is Germany’s turn to release the consumer price index for May, while the week wraps up with estimates for both short- and long-term inflation and consumer expectations, based on June data from the University of Michigan.”
The General Index remained firmly in positive territory, climbing to 2,389.03 points (+1.55%). At 5:00 p.m., it stood at 2,385.87 (+1.42%) and closed at 2,385.63 points, with daily gains of 1.41%.
Turnover, the highest in the last six sessions, stood at 335 million, of which 64.1 million related to pre-arranged trades (BOCHGR, OPTIMA, GEK TERNA, PIR, ALFA, ADMIE, REVOIL, DEI, EUROB, LAMDA, OTOEL, EYDAP, KRI, LAVI, OTE), with DEI, PIR, ALFA, ETE, OTE, and EUROB accounting for 67% of the total gross trading value.
Of the total turnover of 335 million, 305.2 million relates to transactions in FTSE 25 shares.