November gets under way with investors focused on political developments. The main event is the US midterm elections on Tuesday, the day after tomorrow; developments on other unresolved fronts, Israel among them, are also being factored in by traders.
Other issues, such as events in France — particularly after the country’s economic outlook was downgraded to negative — will influence traders and investors to varying degrees, from Paris and Frankfurt to Madrid, Milan and Athens.
Closer to home, one of the main items on November’s agenda is the search for a NAVTEX to start work on the Great Sea Interconnector, according to Giorgos Fintikakis.
November is packed with developments and is traditionally marked by significant inflows from investors looking ahead to Santa Claus rallies.
For the record, last year’s rally unfolded in the run-up to Christmas, while 2025 was the third consecutive year of double-digit returns for all three major indices: the DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq. This year, however, is entirely different, with the midterm election result set to shape the environment in which investors operate, at least through the end of 2026.
One obvious question in the wake of the US midterms is Washington’s policy towards Tehran, given that Netanyahu remains Israel’s caretaker prime minister and can either call new elections in a bid to win an outright majority or join a grand coalition.
Developments in Washington and Tel Aviv warrant close attention, as oil prices remain high. At midday on Sunday, Brent stood at $113.43 and WTI at $104.12. The US 10-year yield was 4.9340%, while France’s equivalent yield was 4.9722%. The euro/dollar exchange rate stood at 1.11583.
Against this backdrop, November begins with the S&P 500 at 7,580.07, after a modest 0.93% correction in October.
The DAX stood at 25,818.21, up 2.43% for the month, while the CAC 40 was at 7,962.42, up just 0.06%.
October was a month of heavy losses for banks and large caps on Euronext Athens. The General Index ended at 2,619.08, down 4.38%; the Banks Index at 3,023.75, down 9.61%; and the FTSE 25 at 6,702.29, as fund managers investing in emerging and developed markets reshuffled their positions. The former were mainly sellers, while the latter were cautious buyers, taking advantage of the lower prices seen in October.
Average daily trading value in 2026 stood at €358.3 million, 64.7% higher than in 2025 — a convincing sign of "new money" coming in from foreign fund managers. Net purchases/sales by foreign investors for 2026 amounted to €726.9 million, according to Manos Hatzidakis.
With the Banks Index down 9.61% for the month but up 6.75% in a weekly rebound, buyers’ return to the sector was clear.
The banking sector remains a reliable bellwether. Turnover rose last week, with 41.85 million shares traded out of a total of 50.54 million on Friday.
Giorgos Flokas focuses on value plays, seeking to identify where value lies on the market and where future prospects are already priced in. Giorgos also analyses how Citi interpreted the banks’ results and what surprise its analysts expect from National Bank. The group’s management will announce third-quarter and nine-month results on Wednesday. The share stood at €15.735, down 11.65% for the month but up 4.69% in a rebound last week.
Coca-Cola HBC (€56.10) will report quarterly results on Wednesday, followed a day later by the management teams of TITAN (€47.50) and Metlen Energy & Metals (€48).
METKA is in the final stretch for Euronext Athens, with M Concessions valued at €169 million, according to Stelios Bouras. The €500 million bond was repaid on the final trading day of October, with no new financing, reflecting the strong liquidity available to Metlen Energy & Metals.
Coca-Cola HBC shares rose 2.94% to €56.10 on Friday and gained 2.37% over the week, probably as investors priced in the quarterly results. The small-cap companies’ conference, under the auspices of Athens Euronext and featuring 14 mid- and small-cap companies, will take place tomorrow, Monday. Trading in the new CrediaBank shares, following its merger with Europa Holdings, also begins tomorrow.
Technically, according to the head of analysis at BETA Securities, the General Index attempted a full recovery from last Friday’s low of 2,513 points, approaching the threshold at which the upward correction would be complete.
The resistance zone formed by the 30- and 50-day moving averages and the 2,625-point level — from which the decline towards July’s lows began — proved resilient to Friday’s attempt to break higher. In the short term, the General Index remains on a downward trajectory, although it is now only marginally below the level that would signal a return to an upward trend.