The Athens Stock Exchange continued its upward reaction, with buyers dominating for the second consecutive day and leading the General Index above 1,450 points, in a first attempt to stop the sideways-down movement.
The catalysts for the positive move were, on the one hand, bank euphoria about the dividend distribution and, on the other hand, the historic interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (the first since 2019), which paves the way for more risk taking.
Somehow, the Greek market managed to "trim" to around -3% the distance from the recent peaks of 1,502 points, confirming that it has the potential to put a brake on the "digestion" process of the last few weeks.
More specifically, during today's session, the General Index posted a mild increase of 0.63% and settled - although far from the high of the day - at 1,452.85 points, gaining nine points compared to Wednesday's close (1,443.74 points).
The arc of daily fluctuations was fixed at 11 points (from 1,452.81 to 1,463.47 points), with a turnover of 126 million euros, of which 30 million euros were pre-agreed packages.
The banking index was boosted by the green light from the regulators on the proposed 2024 dividends - the first in 16 years - to finish +1.61% and 1,274 points. This lifted the total two-day rise above +3%.
On a daily basis, Eurobank shares climbed +2.26% and EUR 2.079, Piraeus shares rose +1.64% and EUR 3.785, National Bank shares closed +1.47% and EUR 8.026, while Alpha Bank shares moved +0.85% and EUR 1.5935.
In the high-cap index (+0.80% and 3,520 points), the shares of Terna Energy climbed +1.78% and 18.82 euros, amid the scenarios of the deal for the sale of the majority stake. Motor Oil - Helleniq Energy shares also gained more than 2%, while OTE and Cenergy shares rose by at least 1%. On the flip side, shares of Quest - EYDAP - Lamda - Autohellas fell more than 1%, with Titan, GEK Terna, Mytilineos and OPAP folding close to -1%.
As for the mid-cap index (-0.02% and 2,340 points), EYATH shares stood out positively at +2.6% and 3.1 euros, with Techniki, Lavipharm and Fourlis shares expanding by around 1.5%. On the flip side, Kri-Kri shares contracted by 1.8%. Shares of Intracom, AVAX and Premia, which "cut" its dividend entitlement, also fell by more than 1%.
