European markets were mixed, while long positions had the upper hand at the start of trading on the Athens stock market.
Oil prices edged lower, as did bond yields, while Wall Street futures were in positive territory. Brent stood at $105.449, the US 10-year yield at 5.0870%, and S&P 500 futures in New York were up 0.17%.
In Frankfurt, the DAX stood at 25,536 points (up 0.61%); in Paris, the CAC 40 was at 7,922 (down 0.17%); France’s 10-year yield was 4.7940%, and the Euro Stoxx Banks index stood at 290.9 points (up 0.75%).
The trend in European markets, apparent before the session began, seemed to be influencing investor sentiment in Athens.
From 2,998.96, the first orders in bank shares came within a 25-point range, with inflows into all four systemic banks. Orders also came through almost simultaneously in a range of leading blue chips, with the FTSE 25 at 2,602 points (up 0.67%).
A pre-arranged order for PPC shares—49,400 at €22.50 (at 10:40)—suggested the stock would be in focus among buyers. Orders ranged from €22.46 to €22.56 during the first half-hour, putting the stock at the top of the relevant rankings.
Piraeus Bank shares stood at €9.66 (up 1.53%), Eurobank at €4.449 (up 1.30%), Alpha Bank at €4.238 (up 1.15%) and National Bank of Greece at €16.275 (up 1.43%). The four systemic banks again accounted for the most trades and turnover by comparison. Buyers also outnumbered sellers in Bank of Cyprus (€10.49), Optima Bank (€13.93) and Credia Bank (€0.935).
Motor Oil shares came under selling pressure at €69.10 (down 2.22%), while HELLENiQ ENERGY rose on demand to €19.29 (up 0.99%). The stocks were moving in exactly opposite directions to yesterday, with a hint of rotation.
As the first half-hour progressed, buying interest emerged in Allwyn (€12.195), TITAN (€47.70), Metlen Energy & Metals (€48.20), OTE (€19.24), ElvalHalcor (€3.445), GEK TERNA (€39.70), DAA (€12.26), AEGEAN (€11) and others.
For now, the follow-through expected today appears to be materialising in shares where buyers had the upper hand yesterday, Thursday (with the exception of Coca-Cola HBC). In others, which fell by varying degrees, investors are trying to regain lost ground.
Trading was moderate during the first half-hour, with 1.62 million shares changing hands and turnover of €16.9 million.
The advance-decline tally stood at 60 to 23. EXAE (€10.42), IDEAL Holdings (€5.48), ADMIE (€4.33) and Qualco (€6.04) stood out among FTSE Mid Cap shares.
October index futures, due to expire today, traded at a small premium of 0.41%, but on just 55 contracts.