Just yesterday, Coca-Cola HBC (EEE) was the only large-cap stock to trade in positive territory throughout the session, providing significant support for the Athens market’s main indices, while heavyweight bank stocks came under pressure for a second consecutive session.
Today, buyers returned to the banking sector and HELLENiQ ENERGY shares (+2.83%, closing at a new all-time high). Coca-Cola HBC (EEE), by contrast, fell 0.95% and never moved into positive territory, confirming that the portfolios active on the Athens market at this stage can shape sentiment and direction as they see fit, focusing on a handful of heavyweight stocks.
The intervention of the “active forces” was even more evident in the closing auctions, helping to secure a close for the General Index above 2,600 points and for all the main indices at their intraday highs, alongside seven large-cap stocks (more on this below).
Meanwhile, everything went smoothly with the Capital Maritime Finance IPO. Applications totalling €1.085 billion were received (for 144,740,097 shares), with the offer price set at €7.50 a share. The company raised €300 million by selling 40 million shares.
According to information, two more shipping companies could list on the Athens Exchange in the coming months.
Next week, GEK TERNA will issue a €500 million, seven-year eurobond. It is seeking to raise part of the funds from the domestic market.
GEK TERNA’s Medium-Term Note Programme has received investment-grade ratings from two agencies, S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Ratings. Specifically, S&P Global Ratings assigned the programme a “BBB-” rating, while Moody’s Ratings gave it a long-term rating of “(P)Baa3” and a short-term rating of “(P)P-3”; the company’s outlook remains stable.
The IPO of METKA, paving the way for its return to the Athens Exchange, is also imminent.
The “Euronext Athens SmallCap Conference 2026” will be held on 2 November 2026 at the Divani Caravel Hotel.
Beyond that, there is no doubt that the Greek stock market will remain bank-centric, with few “reserves” among the non-bank constituents of the FTSE 25.
In this context, the nine-month results expected from the heavyweight banking sector will undoubtedly play a leading role in the Athens market’s short-term direction.
By way of reminder, the following banks are due to report nine-month results: EUROB on 29/10/2026, PIR on 30/10/2026, ALPHA on 30/10/2026, ETE on 5/11/2026, BOCHGR on 5/11/2026, OPTIMA on 11/11/2026 and CREDIA on 12/11/2026.
Today’s session also highlighted the lack of domestic news, while mid- and small-cap stocks remain on the sidelines of trading and investor interest, yet at the centre of selling pressure.
As for the features of today’s session, the Athens market’s main indices traded in positive territory throughout. Trading activity was markedly lower, despite the expiry of October contracts on the derivatives market. If today’s buyers had set out primarily to bring the General Index back above the psychological 2,600-point threshold and secure a close above it, the “magic” of the closing auctions achieved that aim.
Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh said he was optimistic about the effects of artificial intelligence and believed it could change the real economy, but its medium-term impact on employment was uncertain.
Speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, the Thai capital, Warsh said that “the Fed needs to consider risks to financial stability”. He added that “economic conditions remain, broadly speaking, in line with officials’ expectations when they raised interest rates for the first time in three years in September”. Markets took that latter comment positively, judging that the Fed would leave borrowing costs unchanged at its meeting this month.
According to the economic calendar, the next ECB meetings and announcements are scheduled for 29/10 and 17/12/2026.
The corresponding Fed meetings are scheduled for 28/10 and 9/12/2026.
The next scheduled monetary policy meetings are on 30/10 and 18/12 for the BoJ, and on 5/11 and 17/12 for the BoE.
Major European markets traded higher in the wake of Warsh’s comments.
Government bond yields moved higher.
The yield on the US two-year Treasury rose to 4.72%, while the 10-year yield reached 5.08%. The 30-year yield stood at 5.42%. The Greek 10-year yield was 4.335%, compared with 4.8% for the equivalent French bond.
Also in the government bond market, the Greek state will hold an auction of 26-week Treasury bills, in book-entry form, worth €400 million and maturing on 23 April 2027, on Wednesday 21 October 2026.
The General Index traded in positive territory throughout, rising as high as 2,611.84 (+1.15%). At 17:00 it stood at 2,599.49 (+0.67%); the closing auction took it to a new high of 2,613.51 (+1.22%), and it ended the session at 2,613.49 points, up 1.22% on the day.
Turnover fell to €288.3 million, of which €49.7 million was accounted for by pre-agreed trades (OPTIMA, AKTR, BYLOT, PPC, SAR, OTE, PIR, ALPHA, ETE, EUROB). PIR, EUROB and ALPHA accounted for 41% of total gross trading value.
Of the total turnover of €288.3 million, €272.3 million came from trading in FTSE 25 stocks.
Today was the final session of the week, ending the two-week losing streak and giving the General Index a weekly gain of 2.12%. Over the same period, the banking sector index rose 2.42%. Since the start of the year, the General Index is up 23.24% and the banking index 32.21%.