The Greek stock market saw repeated swings between gains and losses in the early part of today’s session, with bank shares leading buyers’ push for a third consecutive gain, while the contest between advancing and declining shares remained finely balanced until the close.
In any case, the General Index and banking index posted three consecutive sessions of gains, rising by a cumulative 3.66% and 8.44%, respectively.
Other features of the session included a clear increase in turnover (the highest of the past three sessions) and further support from the closing auction, which left the Athens market’s main indices at or near the day’s highs, along with nine large-cap stocks.
Taking events in chronological order, the Federal Reserve held interest rates at 3.75%-4%, with 10 votes in favour and two against. The decision was widely expected on Wall Street.
At the press conference following the decision, Fed chair Kevin Warsh stressed that “the central bank remains ready to act as conditions warrant”, without giving a clear signal on the possibility of another increase in December. Investors continue to bet on a rate rise in December and two more in 2027.
The Governing Council today decided to leave the ECB’s three key interest rates unchanged, noting that “energy prices have continued to rise, posing upside risks to the inflation outlook and downside risks to the growth outlook”. Attention now turns to December.
Meanwhile, Christine Lagarde announced that she would step down early as ECB president, setting the succession process in motion. Lagarde will leave her post as president of the European Central Bank in February, nine months before her eight-year term is due to end in October 2027, as she is in talks to take over as president of the World Economic Forum.
According to Ms Lagarde’s remarks today, “energy prices have risen by more than projected in the September baseline scenario and are expected to push inflation higher in the medium term. The energy shock could intensify further. The Governing Council discussed whether another interest rate rise would be appropriate, but decided to leave borrowing costs unchanged, taking into account the uncertainty and the unchanged level of underlying inflation. Countries with high debt must factor into their fiscal planning that interest rates are higher and will remain higher.”
Looking ahead to the next central bank meetings, the Fed is scheduled to meet on 9 December 2026 and the ECB on 17 December 2026.
The next scheduled monetary policy meetings of the BoJ are on 30 October and 18 December, while the BoE is due to meet on 5 November and 17 December.
Alongside the central bank meetings, attention abroad will remain firmly focused on third-quarter corporate announcements.
According to Beta Sec., “today, after Wall Street closes, Amazon, Intel, Mondelez, Rivian, SanDisk, Starbucks, Strategy and Twilio will report. On Friday, 30 October, before the market opens, AbbVie and Chevron will report, while ExxonMobil’s results are also expected.”
The easing of oil prices and government bond yields also improved sentiment among buyers in Europe and on the Athens market today.
“The US has informed several Arab Gulf states that they should be prepared for a brief and intense military campaign after the midterm elections,” according to people briefed on the discussions, cited by the Wall Street Journal.
“US Vice-President J.D. Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, aimed at restarting negotiations with Iran and preventing the start of new US bombing in the Islamic Republic,” according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Iran, for its part, warned markets of the devastating impact a new attack would have on the region, following an intensification of Israeli threats against Tehran in recent days.
Back on the domestic front, announcements of nine-month bank results begin today.
After the Athens market closes today, Eurobank will publish its results, followed tomorrow by Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank. National Bank of Greece will report on 4 November 2026, Bank of Cyprus on 5 November 2026, Optima on 11 November 2026 and Credia on 12 November 2026.
OTE will also publish its results before the market opens tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the fall in oil prices prompted a correction in refinery shares (ELPE -5.02%, MOH -5.63%).
According to technical analysis, the scenario of the “gap” at 2,518-2,498 points being closed remains in play as long as the General Index fails to close above 2,640-2,643 points.
According to Stelios Bouras’s report, “preparations are advancing for METKA’s entry to the Athens Stock Exchange, with a strong new structure that increases its flexibility and supports the group’s next steps in its development. With an order backlog of around €2bn, METKA holds a leading position in the construction market while also seeking a broader role in the infrastructure sector.”
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).
The market is awaiting an announcement from MSCI on its quarterly index review. The announcements will be made late in the evening on 11 November 2026, with changes taking effect on 1 December 2026 and investors rebalancing their positions on Monday, 30 November 2026.
Announcements on the FTSE Russell index reshuffle are due on 13 November, with rebalancing on 18 December.
On 30 November and 1 December, attention will shift to London for the Morgan Stanley & Euronext Athens Greek Investment Conference 2026.
Meanwhile, according to the Capital Market Commission register, the following net short positions exceed 0.5%:
Qube Research & Technologies Limited continues to hold a net short position of 0.79475% in BYLOT shares, 0.77143% in ADMIE, 0.82746% in AKTR and 0.50226% in LAMDA. AKO Capital LLP has a net short position of 1.05351% in MTLN.
As of 27 October 2026, Qube Research & Technologies Limited increased its net short position in CREDIA shares to 0.7016%, from 0.61914%.
Major European markets traded higher, as traders weighed central bank announcements and incoming economic data.
The US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.5% month on month in September, its biggest increase in six months. It had risen by 0.3% in August, while the latest reading was in line with market expectations. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.3% month on month, its biggest increase in four months, also matching forecasts. Year on year, PCE inflation accelerated to 3.6%, from 3.4% the previous month. Core inflation rose to 3.1%, from 3%.
The US economy grew faster than analysts had expected in the third quarter.
US GDP grew at an annualised rate of 3.4%, accelerating from 2.2% in the second quarter and exceeding the 3.2% forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
Bond yields were easing across all issuers, particularly at the shorter end of the bond market.
More specifically, the yield on the US two-year note fell to 4.65%, the 10-year yield to 4.98% and the 30-year yield to 5.32%. The Greek 10-year yield stood at 4.275%, while the equivalent French yield was 4.83%.
“Concerns about a new debt crisis in the eurozone are returning, with France this time at the centre of market attention as government bond yields surge, the political landscape remains fragmented and the government struggles to push through deficit-cutting measures ahead of the 2027 presidential election,” according to a Bloomberg analysis.
The General Index traded between 2,601.45 (-0.16%) and 2,623.59 points (+0.69%). At 17:00 it stood at 2,616.78 (+0.42%); the closing auction lifted it to a new high of 2,626.73 (+0.81%), before it ended the session at 2,623.03 points, up 0.66% on the day.
Turnover was €448.5m, of which €65.7m came from pre-agreed transactions (ALWN, CREDIA, OPTIMA, BYLOT, National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, GEK TERNA, Piraeus Bank, PPC, Alpha Bank). National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank accounted for 66% of total gross transaction value.
National Bank of Greece accounted for 23% of turnover.
Of total turnover of €448.5m, €430.8m was in FTSE 25 shares.