Oil prices are falling while share prices rise. Brent is at $113.81, the DAX at 25,808 points (0.42%), the CAC 40 at 7,945 (0.75%), S&P 500 futures at 7,727 (0.08%) and the Euro Stoxx Banks index at 276.32 (0.03%). In Athens, the session opened with buyers moving cautiously.
Reports of contact between the US vice-president, JD Vance, and Iranian national security official Mohsen Rezaei are lending support to bullish positions, with next Tuesday’s election also in view.
For Wall Street, the aim is to foster an environment that will facilitate Anthropic’s massive IPO, which many see as a “vote of confidence” — or otherwise — from the investment community in the AI giants sector. The wait will not be long: much will depend on the outcome of the November 3 midterm elections.
Orders in the pre-opening session on Euronext Athens were placed cautiously, focused on bank shares and selected large caps. The first orders in the banking index were placed at 2,998 points; during the first hour, it traded between 2,984 and 3,004. A total of 5.9 million bank shares changed hands, out of 6.9 million shares overall, by 11:10. Turnover stood at €60 million, of which €7.4 million came from block trades. The two largest were recorded in Eurobank and National Bank.
Most trading and the highest turnover were concentrated in the four systemic banks, with sellers and buyers taking turns before buyers gradually gained the upper hand. Buy orders increased in Eurobank (4.40) and Alpha Bank (4.425), as well as in National Bank (15.78). Buyers also had the advantage in Piraeus Bank (9.886), while Bank of Cyprus (10.47), Optima Bank (13.21) and Credia Bank (0.946) also saw healthy activity.
Buy orders gradually moved to higher prices, with the focus on the banking sector, which had risen to around 3,008 points (0.92%) by the end of the first hour, supported by steady inflows.
By contrast, sellers had the upper hand in leading large caps, notably GEK TERNA (39.68), Metlen (47.86), Motor Oil (68) and Allwyn (11.10). A broker said a tactical rotation from blue chips into bank stocks could be under way, with the FTSE 25 at 6,682 points (0.34%) as PPC (22.92), Coca-Cola HBC (56.20), TITAN (47.78) and Cenergy Holdings (22.38) outperformed.
Buy and sell orders were relatively evenly balanced, with shares trading in narrow ranges and no convincing sign of an immediate change in direction. Among FTSE Mid Cap shares, Alter Ego Media (6.50), AVAX (3.33), IDEAL Holdings (5.48) and ADMIE (4.325) stood out.