Today’s session may have started on an upward note, with the General Index climbing to just shy of 2,490 points, but the positive momentum lasted only a few minutes, as mild profit-taking movements to lock in significant short-term gains prevailed thereafter.
It should be noted that the Athens Stock Exchange had just come off a five-day winning streak, with the General Index posting cumulative gains of 4.7% and the banking sector index, with an equal number of up sessions, posting gains of 8.81%.
For those who enjoy analyzing statistics, yesterday’s close of the General Index marked a 199-month high, with the next-highest close having been recorded on November 19, 2009 (2,497.15 points) and the DTR at a 127-month high, with the next-highest close recorded on November 16, 2015 (3,073.8 points).
Moving forward and taking developments in chronological order, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, confirming market and investor expectations. The new quarterly projections showed that 9 of the 18 Fed officials now expect interest rate hikes by the end of 2026, while the statement released following the two-day meeting removed the wording that had been used to suggest the possibility of further cuts in borrowing costs in 2026.
“The U.S. economy continues to grow at a satisfactory pace, but inflation is well above the 2% target, and persistently high prices are a ‘burden,’” said Kevin Warsh in his first press conference as Fed chairman, leaving the door open for a possible future interest rate hike—a prospect that did not sit well with active Wall Street traders, who engaged in massive “profit-taking” yesterday.
It should be noted that, according to the economic calendar, the ECB’s next meetings and announcements are scheduled for July 23, September 10, October 29, and December 17, 2026.
The Fed’s corresponding meetings are scheduled for July 29, September 16, October 28, and December 9, 2026.
It should be noted that the Bank of England (BoE) also kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75%, as expected by the markets.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeskian, signed remotely on Wednesday evening a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending the armed conflict in the Middle East. Under the agreement, Tehran commits to reducing its stockpiles of enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions.
The 14-point memorandum provides for a new 60-day negotiation period, during which Iran will allow toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement calls for the full restoration of traffic through the Strait within 30 days. It also includes a $300 billion plan to finance Iran’s reconstruction.
All of the above factors pushed oil prices even lower.
Returning to the Athens Stock Exchange, and according to an announcement by ADMIE (+4.07% and closing at new all-time highs), “given the strong demand expressed during the book-building process through June 17, 2026, bids below €4.05 per new share will most likely not be considered for allocation purposes. As initially announced, the target size of the offering is expected to amount to €530 million. Orders received through June 17, 2026, represent demand that is a multiple of the number of new shares available at the above price and for this offering size. The Company will duly inform all investors of any material developments regarding the Combined Offering process.”
Moving on to the rest of today’s trading session, it is worth noting the distinct decline in net trading value, while once again today, stocks with negative returns “led the market from start to finish.”
Trading Session – “stock picking” was the order of the day among large-cap stocks, with buyers being particularly selective in their moves.
There was little of note in the mid- and small-cap sectors, as the number of stocks vying for higher valuations remains limited, with relatively convincing trading volumes.
“We expect the Athens Stock Exchange to trade with selective positioning and increased volatility as the General Index approaches 2,500 points. The Fed’s more hawkish rhetoric and Friday’s triple witching may increase short-term volatility and profit-taking. At the same time, the de-escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the drop in energy prices are supporting investor sentiment, primarily benefiting the stock markets. “Wall Street turned negative following the Fed’s announcement, as investors priced in a tighter monetary stance and the possibility of interest rate hikes by the end of the year, while pressure was concentrated mainly on the technology sector,” notes Kyklos Securities.
On the other hand, according to an experienced market participant—a contributor to this column—“the fatigue of the last few days is more than evident. Unless there is a deal—a catalyst—that will drive a group of stocks higher due to their relative valuations, the biggest problem for investors in the current environment will be the combination of demanding market capitalization and a lack of attractively valued ‘growth stories’. The most recent case in which the “gap” with comparable foreign companies was closed was that of ADMIE. For “retail stocks,” the situation is more complex. They expect a shift in interest toward lower market capitalizations, whenever that may occur.”
Beyond that, it is worth noting that tomorrow marks the June “triple witching,” while position rollovers continue on the Athens Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, the Stoxx index review will include CrediaBank shares 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.
In addition, 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 capping factors for the stocks included in the indices were calculated based on the closing prices at the end 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.
Major European markets are showing mixed signals, with investor attention shifting back to the bond market, where sentiment is also mixed.
More specifically, the yield on the U.S. 2-year Treasury note is rising to 4.19%, while the yield on the corresponding 10-year note is holding steady at 4.45% (the yield on the 30-year note is falling to 4.88%). The yield on the Greek 10-year bond stands at 3.601%.
The General Index fluctuated between 2,489.11 (+0.18%) and 2,467.8 points (-0.68%). At 5:00 p.m., it stood at 2,477.25 (-0.30%) and closed at 2,471.78 points, with daily losses of 0.52%.
Trading volume stood at 361.3 million, of which 112.9 million were block trades (CENER, ALWN, AKTR, BYLOT, PIR, GEKTERNA, DEI, EUROB, ETE, SAR, TRASTOR, MOI, LAMDA), with PIR, DEI, EUROB, and ETE accounting for 59% of the total gross trading value.
PIR accounted for 27.2% of the turnover.
Of the total turnover of 361.3 million, 330.2 million related to trades in FTSE 25 stocks.
The picture in the large-cap sector
Among the heavyweight banking stocks, EUROB (-2.48%) remained in negative territory throughout the session, while ALPHA (-2.18%), ETE (-0.55%), PEIR (0%), BOCHGR (+1.43%, with its last negative close on June 10 and rumors of possible share restructuring), and OPTIMA (+0.10%).
The banking sector index remained in negative territory throughout the session, falling to 2,847.69 points (-1.13%). At 5:00 p.m., it stood at 2,873.16 (-0.24%) and closed at 2,852.91 points, with daily losses of 0.95%.
The DTR issued a daily buy signal, which is negated by a pullback and a close below 2,610 points. The next support levels are at 2,454, 2,446 (simple 200-day moving average), and 2,409 points (exponential 200-day moving average). The next resistance level is at 2,900 points.
The final picture on the non-banking 25-stock index could be described as mixed, with AKTR (+6.03%), ALWN (+1.39%), CENER (+3.36%), EYDAP (+3.75%), BIO (-1.03%), DEI (-1.97%), and MOI (-1.06%).
ELPE (+0.37%) hit a 221-month high, while AKTR (+6.03%) reached a 273-month high, amid rumors of new business deals as well as a possible capital increase.
It was rated for the first time on its long-term creditworthiness by Moody’s Ratings at “Baa1” (stable outlook) and by S&P; Global Ratings at “BBB+” (stable outlook), AIA (-0.37%). It sought 500 million euros for the bond issue, and bids reached 2.6 billion euros. The interest rate was set at 3.75%.
Analysts’ assessments
“Although the markets certainly expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by October, the decline in energy prices may act as a counterbalance, partially reassuring the investment community. Domestically, Thrace Plastics reported a significantly improved first quarter, with operating EBITDA of 15.1 million euros (+65%) and net income of 5.4 million euros, mainly due to the strong performance of the Packaging segment and improved operating profit margins. Similarly, SafeBulkers also posted an exceptional first quarter due to higher daily time-charter rates and lower daily operating expenses. As a result, adjusted operating EBITDA stood at 40.7 million euros and net profit at 20.7 million euros, compared to 29.4 million euros and 7.8 million euros, respectively, for the first quarter of 2025,” notes Depolas Investment Services.
“The outlook in Europe remains cautious, as markets digest the Fed’s hawkish stance, with lower oil prices—following the signing of the memorandum of cooperation between the U.S. and Iran—only partially offsetting the situation,” Eurobank Equities points out.
“In the wake of the peace agreement signed between the U.S. and Iran, trading on the Athens Stock Exchange is expected to stabilize, with investors tending to cash out part of the gains they reaped from the recent rally, especially following yesterday’s decision by the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged and remove forward guidance regarding a potential easing of monetary policy in 2026,” according to Beta Sec.
“Our market has performed exceptionally well, reaching new 16.5-year highs, as we had anticipated in our earlier analysis, led by the banking sector as well as other large-cap stocks in the FTSE LARGE CAP index,” notes Tasos Niavis.
From a technical analysis perspective, we are currently in the third Elliott wave uptrend—the longest in duration and the strongest in performance—which, starting from the low of 1,998 points, has driven the General Index to its current levels.
We are in the twelfth week of this wave, which will slowly but steadily drive the Index to much higher levels.
Our market is clearly functioning as a developed market, following the lead of the major European markets, even though we will formally be classified as a developed market starting in April 2027.
The market is gradually “growing,” with trading volume remaining consistently high, due in part to the recent capital increases by PPC and ADMIE, with the participation of major international portfolios—both institutional and private.
In closing, we would like to note once again the market’s extremely strong, long-term upward trend, which, despite the uncertainty we have experienced due to the crisis in the Middle East, continues to strengthen,” as pointed out by Mr. Niavis (a certified financial analyst).