Investors remain on heightened alert today. The spread of conflict in the Middle East, concerns about valuations of technology giants and the release of third-quarter results on Wall Street are creating a volatile backdrop for markets.
Brent stood at $105.464, WTI at $92.601, the US 10-year yield at 5.1950% and the French equivalent at 4.9050%. The VIX/CBOE was at 15.21, while S&P 500 futures traded at a modest 0.11% discount.
After a second consecutive session in positive territory, the DAX starts the day at 25,277 in Frankfurt, the market in Paris at 7,832 and the EuroStoxx Banks at 294.21.
The return of buyers to European bank shares also lifted the Greek stock market. The EuroStoxx Banks’ 1.21% gain supported bullish investors in shares of the market’s leading sector, with the banking index rising as high as 3,031.53 and settling at 3,022.42, up 2.07%.
With 30.59 million bank shares traded, out of a total of 39.99 million, the “relief rally” was driven mainly by the banks’ outperformance. Turnover reached €364 million, including €67.4 million in pre-arranged trades. Yesterday’s session appears to have been another step in investors’ efforts to regroup. Given that a significant share of the orders involved “fast money”, whether the relief rally continues will depend on the trend on European stock markets, particularly the direction of the EuroStoxx Banks.
The IMF has cut its forecast for Greek economic growth and raised its inflation forecast, Kostas Tsavalos reports. The growth forecast for 2026 has been lowered to 1.8%, with potential implications for the real economy and businesses.
Meanwhile, markets are awaiting the announcement of measures on fuel at the “pump”, another factor affecting production and consumption costs, among others.
On the corporate front, the public offering for the listing of Vangelis Marinakis’ shipping company on Euronext Athens starts today. The aim is to raise about €250 million. The offer runs from 13 to 15 October.
Eva Kandilari analyses what Metlen’s agreement with Thales for Space will bring, while Alexandra Gitsi reports on the target set by IDEAL Holdings’ management to grow to 1 billion over the next five years.
These are examples of corporate activity and developments that could sustain investor interest in FTSE 25 and FTSE Mid Cap shares.
By contrast, a Bloomberg report that the European Commission will assess the possibility of imposing an EU-wide extraordinary tax on energy revenues, following pressure from various countries, prompted selling in oil and gas stocks across Europe.
Sellers were dominant in Motor Oil (66.80) and HelleniQ Energy (18.47), partly as investors took profits after substantial earlier gains.