The market has been positive for investors on most stock exchanges in recent days. The S&P 500 rose 0.65% to 7,431.46 points, in a week marked primarily by SpaceX’s spectacular debut on Wall Street. The mood is positive, partly due to Trump’s latest statements that the U.S. and Iran are close to signing a memorandum of understanding.
The prevailing view, however, is that until the agreement is reached (signed), there are many outstanding issues that need to be clarified, with the landscape remaining unclear for now—and whatever that may imply for investor sentiment. The basic assessment, however, is that it is highly unlikely the situation could deteriorate dramatically again.
On Friday, we saw trading sessions clearly signaling a de-escalation of tensions, with buyers returning from Frankfurt and Paris all the way to Seoul and Hong Kong.
Among European stock exchanges, the Greek market posted the largest weekly gain, as the banking sector led the way and a significant portion of large-cap stocks followed suit; the General Index rose 2.80% to 2,421.69 points. At a 16.5-year high, according to Thanasis Stavropoulos’s calculations, the extent of the rebound reached levels last seen on November 25, 2009.
With a weekly gain of 3.55%, the DTR stands at 2,748.51 points, extending its year-to-date gain to 19.82% since the start of 2026. It continues to outperform the European benchmark, with the EuroStoxx Banks index at 277.95 having gained 3.87% and 4.12% over the respective periods.
Investors are keeping pace with central bankers, as the ECB raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points (to 2.25%) and Joachim Nagel not ruling out a second hike, even at the July meeting in just under a month (July 22–23). This coming Wednesday is the Fed meeting—the “first” under Kevin Warsh (who took office on May 22)—with obvious interest in his remarks.
Obviously, developments in the Middle East will also influence—at least in part—the stance of primarily short-term players. For now, Brent is at $87.33, WTI at $84.88, the 10-year yield at 4.485%, the 30-year US yield at 4.973%, the VIX/CBOE even lower at 17.68 points, and risk management indices (related to the creditworthiness of major conglomerates/iTRAXX) also lower.
If the situation does not deteriorate further, BofA has its roadmap for where investors might turn. However, despite the cautious optimism regarding the bank’s investment climate index, the sell signal remains.
For European markets, energy and inflation remain major problems, putting pressure on companies with high borrowing costs.
In the short term, the banking sector is benefiting from growth, but in the medium term, it is likely to come under pressure as businesses are expected to slow down new borrowing (investments).
Inflation in Greece soared in May, becoming one of the major "headaches" for the government and New Democracy, with Filippos Pantazis referring to Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s three-pronged strategy and the narrative leading up to the election.
It should be noted that, in Eurobank’s latest (weekly) report, economists warn that “…energy costs, combined with the consequences of the latest crisis—due to Iran—and the surge in inflation, directly threaten the course of the Greek economy in the second half of 2026."
However, so far, Euronext Athens remains among the leaders in terms of changes in key indices, with stocks showing a clear upward trend for both the DTR and the FTSE 25.
The FTSE 25 stands at 6,155.07, with a weekly gain of 3.12% and a total of 15.02% for 2026.
The "fund" is positive for the bellwethers: GEK TERNA (€44.68), PPC (€22.66), Metlen (€41.56), TITAN (52.70), Motor Oil (39.88), HelleniQ Energy (10.12), OTE (19.26), and others, next week could see a continuation of this trend. Likely with some variations, e.g., outflows from refining groups and inflows into tourism sector companies, index revisions, capital increases, and ex-dividend dates.
This coming Friday, the rebalancing of the STOXX and FTSE/Russell indices (inclusion of Credia Bank—exclusion of ELLAKTOR and Sarantis) will result in increased trading activity, as well as shifts in seller and buyer sentiment.
From Tuesday through Thursday, the public offering for ADMIE’s capital increase will be underway.
Second triple witching in the derivatives market on Friday.