Athens Exchange

The benchmark of the Greek stock market staged an impressive rebound late in Friday's session to come back from 1% down and close with gains of almost 1%. Banks led the way for the recovery of the index, though that was not enough to offset all its weekly losses.

The divestment of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund from Eurobank has been postponed by a few days following the acquisition of Hellenic Bank, in an attempt to value the bank based on the new financial data.

Greek stocks suffered yet another slump on Thursday, with their losses growing as the day progressed, with floods in central Greece and the postponement of the prime minister's speech in Thessaloniki not helping stocks recover. Friday's DBRS Morningstar credit rating report on Greece could change all that.

The majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue posted a moderate decline on Wednesday, as the bourse failed to build on its Tuesday recovery. There was little in the direction of selling but even less action among buyers, so most of the day's reduced turnover went toward bringing prices down.

The Greek stock market reacted after four consecutive sessions of decline to post significant gains on Tuesday, and on notable trading volume too. Traders appear to have taken for granted that DBRS Morningstar will this Friday restore Greece's investment grade rating, and if that does not materialize the bourse will likely take a nosedive as of Monday.

Stocks at Athinon Avenue took a big blow on Monday, as sellers took the upper hand after the first few minutes of the session and proceeded with increasing fervor till the end of the day.

September began at Athinon Avenue with concerns expressed by traders after the first hour related to the global economy and the fear of stagflation. That led the benchmark to losses of almost 1% and a drop below the 1,300-point mark on Friday.

Greek stocks declined slightly in August's last session at the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), as investors locked in profits, although on a limited scale. What stood out though was the sudden surge in turnover, to €453.75 million.

Since the beginning of 2021, Greece's four biggest banks - Alpha, Eurobank, National and Piraeus - have lent businesses some €70 billion, and businesses, in turn, have paid back €55 billion from these or earlier loan.

The net credit expansion of €15 billion is considered low and there are worries that it may drop further in coming years.

Three of the four major banks - Eurobank, National and Piraeus - that have published first-half results - Alpha Bank will do so this week - have declared income from interest above 3 billion euros, well up from the €1.8 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.