European markets are in wait-and-see mode, while sellers have a slight edge on the Greek stock market.
Investors from New York and Frankfurt to Paris and Athens are also focused on the US midterm elections, as the result will determine traders’ strategy in the sessions immediately ahead.
S&P 500 futures are up 0.22% at 7,610 points, the DAX is at 25,913 (up 0.37%), the CAC 40 at 7,976 (up 0.09%), the Euro Stoxx Banks at 275.03 (up 0.31%) and the Stoxx Oil & Gas at 611.22 (down 0.65%).
The session on Euronext Athens was more procedural than substantive, with sellers holding a slight edge for most of the session, almost from the opening.
The mood was reflected in the fact that turnover only topped €100m at 3pm, with €13.58m accounted for by pre-agreed trades. Turnover was significantly lower than last week’s daily average of €356m (and about €370m the week before).
Investors were reluctant to take positions in either banks or large caps, with active market participants limiting themselves to targeted moves and little else.
Inflows into Coca-Cola HBC shares continued for another session, clearly reflecting expectations ahead of the company’s third-quarter and nine-month results. With trades today in the €56.70-57.40 range, the share price has gained 4.38% in a week and 11.28% over the month.
With Coca-Cola HBC outperforming, the FTSE 25 traded in a range of 6,679-6,754 points. Buyers had the upper hand in Jumbo (27.38), Lamda Development (6.015), OTE (19.09), Allwyn (11.486), PPC (23.54) and others.
Inflows into Jumbo shares are attributed to investors pricing in the company’s traditionally strong performance in the final two months of the year. Although it is still early, funds are already positioning in the stock in anticipation of holiday-season sales.
There were also inflows into Lamda Development, which a broker attributed to expectations of a change in the share’s market trajectory following the change in leadership at the group.
PPC and OTE form a pair that, given their competition in key activities, is attracting interest from investors betting on either the utility or the telecoms group coming out on top. It is an unusual tug of war, with distinct inflows from “fast money” too.
Trading was subdued among mid- and small-cap stocks. Notably, small-cap shares participating in today’s Small Cap Conference were gaining ground.
Υ/ΚΝΟΤ (1.47), Veralis (1.4198) and TREK (3.82) were among them.
Turnover stood at €115.5m at 3.30pm, with 42 shares rising and 71 falling.