The Kremlin has undercut Trump over an energy ceasefire deal, sending oil prices ticking up again and significantly curbing the initial reaction in European markets.
Moscow has rejected Zelensky’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, sending Brent towards $106 and Crude WTI to $93. Government bond yields have also edged up, with the US 10-year at 5.2370% and the French equivalent at 4.8750%.
It was clear from the outset that any attempt by the bulls would amount to an upward correction, a technical move following last week’s pullback. Investors’ moves on the Greek stock market have followed the same logic.
The DAX stood at 25,265 (0.71%), down from 25,275, while the CAC 40 was at 7,827 (0.32%), down from 7,850 at the start of the session.
Trading was moderate, with turnover similarly subdued because the Wall Street bond market was closed. Attention is focused on tomorrow’s session, when JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo report results, kicking off the earnings season.
The EuroStoxx Banks index slipped from 295.2 to 293.3, with clear selling emerging shortly after 14:00-14:15, when some investors also took profits on the Greek stock market.
Turnover stood at €160.8 million, including €46 million in pre-arranged trades. A total of 19.4 million shares changed hands, of which 14.5 million were bank shares (as of 15:00).
The banking index stood at 3,006.71 points (1.54%), having hit an intraday high of 3,030.21 points in the first 15 minutes. Inflows into all four major banks remained steady. The three smaller banks showed a similar pattern.
Most intraday trading was concentrated in the four major banks and three smaller lenders, with buyers outnumbering sellers in Piraeus (9.61), Alpha Bank (4.22), National Bank (16.19), Eurobank (4.431), as well as Bank of Cyprus (10.44), Optima Bank (14.40) and Credia Bank (0.936).
Trading in PPC shares was relatively heavy, with significant block trades. The stock stood at €22.64 (-0.20%), after two large pre-arranged trades worth €9 million in total (two lots of 200,000 shares, both at €22.48, one minute apart).
Selling in Motor Oil (66.80) and HELLENiQ ENERGY (18.08) remained steady from the start of the session until earlier.
There were buyers in Metlen Energy & Metals (49.10), GEK TERNA (40.48), OTE (19.42), Cenergy Holdings (23.28), TITAN (46.78), Coca-Cola HBC (51.40), ElvalHalcor (3.41), Allwyn (12.385) and others, with the FTSE 25 at 6,622 points (1.22%) at 15:15.
Veralis (1.368), Medicon (3.14), Mevaco (6.12) and Europa Holdings (1.686) were among the 77 stocks that rose, compared with 43 that fell.