Athens Market Reaches Three-Month High
Athens Stocks attempts to establish a support level above 1600, gaining more than 3% on Tuesday, as the Greek ten-year bond spread narrow significantly, shaping below 800 basis points.
The General Index is helped by the banking sector that rises by up to 4.6%. Piraeus Bank rises by 6%, while Eurobank, Alpha Bank and Bank of Cyprus post gains of up to 5.6%.
Besides banks, PPC’s rise of 5.9% stands out across the FTSE20.
Speculation about the lengthening of repayment period of the Greek debt contributes to the positive sentiment and is expected to remain a key catalyst for the Athens market after the European Summit at the end of the week.
Kyprou Securities is cautious optimistic “since talks about potential ways to postpone the repayment of the €110bn support and potential buyback of Greek bonds at market prices – that could effectively lead to lower debt size benefit the ASE”.
“Tighter fiscal policies and their implementation combined with targeted GDP growth as of 2012 are prerequisites for the Greek State to regain the markets’ trust and have access to international debt markets. That would really lead the ASE to higher levels”, it adds in its morning report.
Pegasus Securities also remains positive as to the Index’s midterm outlook, anticipating that the market will trade in the same levels today, “considering every significant intraday correction as an opportunity to increase our position”.
Across the board, the General Index is at 1636.14 units, up 2.69% in a turnover of EUR75mn, while a total amount of 111 shares rise, 17 decline and 28 remain unchanged.
(capital.gr)
