Mixed signals last night on Wall Street, with renewed pressure on Nasdaq stocks amid a controlled “correction” of the sky-high valuations of AI sector giants.
At the same time, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz triggered sell-offs in oil futures and a rally in tech stocks in Tokyo and Seoul.
Today marks the third day of June, coinciding with the “closing” of second-quarter/first-half positions—a timing that is likely to signal a repositioning of holdings in anticipation of what lies ahead. This is because, once the Straits are open and the 60-day period of the U.S.-Iran MoU proceeds, investor sentiment will also shift.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, with significantly lower oil prices—which in Iran are already returning to pre-war levels—and potentially more flexible monetary policy from central banks regarding interest rates, and so on. I’d like to remind you that the ECB is meeting on July 22–23 and the Fed on July 28–29; it remains to be seen how they will handle the new developments.
June was a “down” month for stock market investors, from New York and Frankfurt to Paris and Athens, but specifically—including Euronext Athens—a gradual return of long positions began shortly before mid-month.
In fact, the Greek stock market hit multi-year highs this week (a 17-year high for the General Index at 2,506.50 and an 11-year high for the DTR at 2,902.36 points). This was followed, starting Tuesday, by cautious profit-taking in positions in bank stocks, blue chips, and select mid-caps, resulting in the General Index closing at 2,470.95 points, the DTR at 2,799.38 points, the FTSE25 at 6,269.38, and the FTSEMidCap at 3,186.60.
Trading volume averaged 270 million euros, boosted by pre-arranged orders in recent days, suggesting a repositioning of portfolios as the first half of the year “closes” and the second half “opens.”
In this context, brokers estimate that this trend will continue today and tomorrow (Friday), and possibly Monday and Tuesday (the last two days of June).
Controlled profit-taking with selective stock picking was also evident in yesterday’s session, as investors factored in corporate-level developments. The banking sector remains the leading sector, with the energy sector—centered on PPC and ADMIE—serving as a close second, where “quick money” has clearly flowed.
Stocks of companies benefiting from developments in the Middle East are trending upward, with the most notable examples being AEGEAN (12.64), AIA (10.55), as well as PPA (42) and PPA (39). Also, companies that are attracting investor interest due to their business prospects, with notable examples including GEK TERNA (45.78)—which has an agreement with Rheinmetall—and AKTOR (12.96) through Atlantic SEE.
Two days of general shareholder meetings are of interest; today, for example, HelleniQ Energy and Lavipharm, and tomorrow Alpha Bank, Real Consulting, Optron, Petropoulos, ELASTRON, and others, with the market anticipating news capable of fueling long-term trends going forward.
At the same time, activity in a specific segment of mid/small caps is bringing old favorites back into the spotlight, as in the case of DotSoft, which is mentioned by HAMileon.