Today’s session on the Greek stock market was marked by swings between gains and losses until 13:30, relatively low net trading volume and continued weakness among mid- and small-cap stocks.
The mood shifted in the second half of trading, with the banking sector and a handful of heavyweight blue chips leading the rally. Buyers managed a repeat performance, chalking up a second consecutive positive session.
Refinery shares came under significant pressure (ELPE -2.97%, MOH -3.53%).
According to the consensus view among domestic analysts, the brighter mood was helped by major European markets reaching new intraday highs, as well as news that “from 1 January 2027, Greek banks will be free to decide how much of their earnings to distribute as dividends. The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) informed the Bank of Greece and the management teams of the commercial banks that, from next year, they will no longer be subject to the restriction in place in recent years, under which the supervisory body had to approve proposals from Greek credit institutions”.
In any case, the banking index’s final gain of 2.26% leaves little doubt about which sector led today’s advance.
It would be remiss not to note the boost from the closing auctions, which left the Athens Exchange’s benchmark indices — as well as nine large-cap stocks — at or near their intraday highs.
Regardless of the session’s final direction, caution and nervousness among active investors were again clear, with shifting buying interest focused on a handful of heavyweight stocks.
Beyond that, if the few buyers were aiming to keep the index from falling back below 2,600 points, they achieved that fairly easily. But the market’s broader picture will clearly need time to attract new investors, who are waiting for some stocks to break decisively higher before taking positions.
For some time now, the market has looked more like one trying — and managing — to avoid a significant retreat during “difficult” sessions than one seeking higher valuations, with all that the latter could entail.
“Maintaining liquidity, diversifying a portfolio and choosing an appropriate investment horizon can help reduce the risk of making decisions under pressure. Sharp corrections can create opportunities, but taking advantage of them requires available capital, discipline and a genuine tolerance for volatility”, says HellasFin AEPEY.
The book for GEK TERNA’s eurobond is expected to open in the coming days, following the completion of the company’s presentations. The group is seeking to raise up to €500 million through seven-year bonds carrying a fixed interest rate.
Attention is also turning to the upcoming nine-month results from the heavyweight banking sector, which will undoubtedly play a leading role in the Athens market’s short-term direction.
It is worth recalling that the banks will report their nine-month results in the following order: EUROB on 29/10/2026, PEIR 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.
The next scheduled reviews of Greece’s credit rating will take place on: 23 October 2026: Standard & Poor's, and 6 November 2026: Fitch Ratings (concluding the annual cycle).
The “Euronext Athens Small Cap Conference 2026” will take place on 2 November 2026 at the Divani Caravel Hotel. According to the invitation from Euronext Athens, participating companies are Alpha Trust Andromeda, AS Company, Biokarpet, Daios, Elton, EIS, Lanakam, Quality & Reliability, Revoil, Softweb, Trek Development, Unibios, Verallis and Y/KNOT Invest.
On 30 November and 1 December, the event moves to London for the Morgan Stanley & Euronext Athens Greek Investment Conference 2026.
Meanwhile, according to the Hellenic Capital Market Commission register, the following short positions exceed 0.5%:
Qube Research & Technologies Limited maintains a net short position of 0.79475% in BYLOT, 0.77143% in ADMIE, 0.61914% in CREDIA and 0.82746% in AKTR. AKO Capital LLP has a net short position of 1.05351% in MTLN.
As of 20/10/2026, Qube Research & Technologies Limited had opened a net short position of 0.50226% in LAMDA.
Major European markets were showing signs of recovery, with traders focused on corporate results, oil prices (as this article was being written, Brent was hovering at $109 a barrel) and government bond yields. Yields have once again moved higher across all issuers.
More specifically, the yield on the US two-year Treasury has climbed to 4.77%, and that on the 10-year to 5.09%. The 30-year yield is at 5.41%. The Greek 10-year yield is at 4.42%, while its French counterpart stands at 4.96%, a 24-year high.
Further uncertainty stems from Moody’s upcoming review of France’s credit rating. The agency is expected to announce its decision on Friday.
Staying with government securities, the yield on the 26-week Treasury bills sold by Greece’s Public Debt Management Agency today in a €400 million auction was 2.64%, up from 2.58% at the previous auction. Total bids amounted to €1.031 billion, covering the amount sought 2.58 times over.
Meanwhile, third-quarter results will remain in focus for international markets, with the pace of announcements picking up this week.
According to Beta Sec., “results are due today from IBM, Lam Research and Tesla. On Thursday 22 October, Blackstone and Procter & Gamble report before the market opens, followed by Ford and Newmont after the close. Finally, on Friday 23 October, American Express and SLB report before the market opens”.
According to the financial 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 of the BoJ are on 30/10 and 18/12, and those of the BoE on 5/11 and 17/12.
The Fed has now entered its blackout period ahead of its October meeting.
The General Index traded between 2,607.02 (-0.12%) and 2,638.5 points (+1.08%). At 17:00 it stood at 2,637.94 (+1.06%) and ended the session at a new high of 2,643.62 points, up 1.28% on the day.
Turnover, the highest in the past four sessions, reached 332.3 million, of which 45 million came from negotiated deals (CREDIA, BYLOT, SBLK, BOCHGR, CMFC, PAP, EUROB, ALPHA, PEIR, GEK TERNA, BELA, ETE, KRI, LAMDA). ETE, EUROB, PEIR and ALPHA accounted for 64% of total gross trading value.
Of total turnover of 332.3 million, 305.4 million came from trades in FTSE 25 shares.