With Brent falling towards $110 a barrel and government bond yields easing slightly, buyers appear to be holding their ground in major European markets, and the Greek stock market is following suit.
So far, at least, the Athens market’s main indices have remained in positive territory. The banking sector index’s 2.10% gain leaves no doubt about which sector is leading the rebound effort.
All of the heavyweight bank stocks are trading higher, with Alpha Bank (+2.10%), Eurobank (+2.43%), Piraeus Bank (+2.55%) and Bank of Cyprus (+2.48%) among the standouts.
The picture among non-bank blue chips could be described as mixed. Allwyn (-4.6%) and Coca-Cola (-1.09%) are among the weakest performers, while Aegean (+2.83%), PPC (+2.53%) and Cenergy (+2.27%) are among the strongest.
Mid- and small-cap stocks are faring somewhat better, as shares that recently hit multi-month lows attempt a rebound today, though its duration and strength remain unclear.
The General Index has stayed in positive territory throughout the session and has so far reached an intraday high of 2,558.11 points (+1.09%). With the first three and a half hours of trading nearly over, turnover has reached 100 million, of which 10.6 million relates to block trades (MOH, GEKTERNA, PPC, NBG, CREDIA).
Trading in the derivatives market could be described as rather subdued, with 612 FTSE 25 contracts changing hands, expiring on 20 November, and just eight Banking Index contracts, expiring on 18 December.
For the remainder of the spot-market session, a close within the 2,550–2,570 range would be an initial positive signal.