With the index closing at 52,317 points yesterday, the Dow Jones posted its best half-year since 2021, while the S&P 500 rebounded to the 7,500-point range. Investors on Wall Street are now turning their attention to tomorrow’s release of key economic data, which Fed members are expected to take into account when formulating their strategy.
Investors in European markets are starting the second half of the year from a different vantage point, following a “meager” gain of 2.06% for the DAX 30 and just 2.67% for the CAC 40. Europe remains mired in its problems, with the ECB appearing cautious about the interest rate policy it will pursue, as inflation persists and the pace of growth slows.
With a significant gain of 15.99% and the general index at 2,459.77 points, the Greek stock market clearly diverged from the majority of European markets during the first half of the year. The banking sector led the rally, with the banking index posting gains of over 20% and the DTR standing at 2,764.61 points, while the FTSE 25 rose by 16.48% to 6,233.16 points.
At the same time, there was a broadening of investment options to other sectors, with the broader energy sector playing a leading role and the PPC Group acting as a catalyst for market momentum.
It is widely acknowledged in the investment community that PPC’s capital increase was what “unlocked” the inflow of significant capital, allowing new powerful players to enter the market, attracting capital from the U.S., and creating leverage in the market.
What followed—the most recent example being GEK TERNA’s rapid raising of 658 million euros through a private placement—is a result of this successful process. Stelios Bouras refers to the €2.3 billion in “ammunition” for the new investment cycle, while HAMaileon comments on the decisive role of PPC in opening a window of opportunity that is expected to persist into the second half of 2026.
Given the precedent set in 2025, when the banking index rose from 2,000 points in early July to just under 2,400 points by the end of December, it remains to be seen how the sector will perform in the coming period. The key question for investors is whether banks will remain the market’s driving force, whether they will be overtaken by the energy sector, or whether they will move upward in tandem with it.
Analysts at Moody’s consider the issue of the Katseli law to be manageable, although they identify three risks, while UBS is expressing confidence by significantly revising its target prices. Optimistic investors are now looking forward to the index surpassing 2,900 points in July. Meanwhile, analysts at Eurobank Equities are positive on HelleniQ Energy and Motor Oil, which closed the first half of the year with gains of 32.18% and 22.23%, respectively.
Today marks the ex-dividend date for Alpha Bank, with a dividend of 0.06559 euros per share, and payment is scheduled to begin next Wednesday, July 8, 2026. Given that dividend distributions in June totaled 2.4 billion euros, it is particularly interesting to see what portion of these funds will be reinvested in the stock market.
Trading volume ultimately stood at 291.3 million euros during yesterday’s session, with intense activity during the final hour. Pre-arranged orders totaled 25.8 million euros, a relatively smaller amount than Monday’s 51.6 million euros, out of a total trading volume of 237.3 million euros. It remains to be seen whether the value of the blocks at the close of the half-year was due to position rebalancing or the distribution of shares near their highs.
In the first case, buyers will have the necessary capital to attempt a break above the 2,500–2,550 level, while in the second, sellers will gain the upper hand for a pullback below the 2,400 to 2,380-point range.