In the end, August disappointed the Stock Market

of Alexandra Tombra

Weak and unstable was the attempt of the Athens stock exchange to break the downward cycle of the last days, as the final report was not accompanied by a better safety cushion than the levels of 850 units, although the positive sign was achieved.

August closed with gains of 0.6%, although a few days ago the general index flirted with 900 units, thus disappointing at the end of the month.

In particular, the general index closed today with an increase of 0.08% to 856.36 points, while it moved between 860.15 points (+0.52%) and 854.24 points (-0.17%). The turnover amounted to 90.09 million euros and the volume to 28.23 million pieces, while 1.78 million pieces were traded through pre-agreed transactions.

The high-cap index closed unchanged at 2,060.62 points, while the Mid Cap closed at -0.03% at 1,357.61 points. The banking index closed up 0.54% at 555.98 points.

The rise in turnover is also linked to restructures in MSCI’s equity weightings, with index-tracking investors taking their positions on changes in stocks and weightings. It is recalled that we did not have any additions/deletions from the MSCI Greece Standard Index, however there are always some changes that bring side orders to the Greek index as well.

At the same time, although the AXA managed to absorb most of the pressures manifested in several index-heavy securities (such as OTE), it was unable to recover significantly from the lost grounds, clearly affected by the fragile international climate.

Thus, the month ended with small gains, far from the performance achieved in the first three weeks, as the falling streak of the last three days was enough to gnaw the rise that existed. Of course, there are not a few analysts who contrast the performance with those of the international markets, which are negative, however, the summer leaves on the calendar with a bitter taste for those who believed that the position of the general index is above 900 points.

A key, though not the only, driver of this picture was clearly the negative international climate, which worsened after the latest inflation data, which heightened concerns about the European Central Bank’s upcoming decisions.

As pointed out by foreign analysts, the ECB is facing a difficult environment, in which it must reduce the money supply in order to limit inflationary pressures, but also not to affect the already anemic growth. How it will achieve this is the big concern of many funds, which do not want to take risks that will expose them to a highly recessionary environment that will also affect business performance.

As stock exchange sources comment on Capital.gr, whether one examines the country’s export performance, or examines the tourist flows this year and next year, it will confirm their dependence on Europe. If Europe experiences the hard face of the energy crisis, then the Greek economy does not have the seals to continue its good course in the coming months. And this perspective is the main inhibiting factor of buyers in the Greek capital market.

Nevertheless, the market today also found some support from the latest Goldman Sachs analysis, which raised the target prices for Greek banks to incorporate the new management guidance, market trends, as well as higher estimates for earnings per share and increased regulatory capital reserves.

On the dashboard

On the board now, Motor Oil and Piraeus closed with gains of 2.2% each, with ELHA, PPA, Ethniki and Mytilene following with an increase of more than 1%. ADMIE, Terna Energy, Titan, Coca Cola, Alpha Bank, Ellactor, GEK Terna and Hellenic Petroleum closed slightly higher.

On the other hand, Sarantis was pushed for the second consecutive session, closing at -4.44%, with Aegean following with -2.29%. Above 1% was the drop in OTE, OPAP, Jumbo and Quest, while Lambda, EYDAP, Eurobank and Viohalco closed slightly down. PPC closed without change.