Investors are cautious in European markets, while Greek stocks have moved back above 2,600 points.
A mass sell-off in technology stocks is tempering buyers’ appetite in Frankfurt and Paris, while S&P 500 futures in New York remain at a small discount of 0.12%, at 7,804.5 points.
Oil’s advance has paused, with Brent at $105.08. France’s 10-year yield has eased slightly to 4.85%, while the CAC 40 is up 0.31% at 7,858 points. The DAX is at 25,352 (up 0.28%), while the EuroStoxx Banks index is at 296.35 (up 0.73%), giving buyers fresh impetus to continue adding to bank shares and push them higher.
Buying interest was evident before the opening, with the first orders in bank stocks coming in from 3,025.97 points, before trading moved within a range up to 3,064 points over the following half-hour.
Buyers were in the ascendancy in all four systemic banks, and also had the upper hand in all three non-systemic banks. The sector’s shares are staging a broader rebound, setting the tone for the wider large-cap market.
However, order flow was rather subdued up to 11:15, with 2.6 million shares traded, including 1.5 million bank shares. Turnover stood at €20 million at 11:00, with €5.15 million accounted for by block trades. The most significant were in Allwyn, Optima Bank and Motor Oil. Notably, Allwyn, which is heading for a seventh consecutive session in positive territory, saw orders at €12.40 and €12.60, while its current price was €12.48.
Allwyn topped the rankings, with Alpha Bank (4.302), National Bank (16.43), Piraeus (9.842) and PPC (22.56) completing the top five. Buyers have returned to PPC, as well as Motor Oil (67.10), HelleniQ Energy (18.50) and others, keeping the FTSE25’s (short-term) upward trajectory intact.
The FTSE25 is around 6,700 points, also supported by Coca-Cola HBC (52.10), TITAN (47.48), Cenergy Holdings (23.74), ElvalHalcor (3.48) and GEK TERNA (41.20).
According to a leading private stockbroker, information concerning Capital Maritime Finance’s public offering is bolstering the more positive sentiment taking shape in the first hour of trading. In the broker’s view, the process is attracting “new money” and retail investors, thereby broadening the shareholder base.
IDEAL Holdings (5.34), Intracom Holdings (2.97) and Alter Ego Media (6.48) stood out among FTSEMidCap shares, all in positive territory.
The advance/decline ratio stood at 59/39 at the end of the first hour.
Turnover stood at €32.2 million, with 4.12 million shares traded, including 2.92 million bank shares, which picked up pace after 11:20.