Buyers have a small lead today (26/6) on the Athens Stock Exchange, with investors "playing defense" on the successive dividend cuts and the prolonged political uncertainty in Europe's second largest economy, namely France.
Somehow, the General Index continues to move steadily above the critical supports of 1,400–1,420 points, with 1,460 points being the key resistances, while the capital market is going through the last week of June and the first half of the year, which is about to "go away" with a double-digit return (> +10%).
Note that today, without the right to a dividend or return of capital, the shares of OPAP, Titan Cement, Viohalco, Cenergy, Elvalhalcor, Quest, HKE, Intracom, Optima, and Intercontinental are trading. And tomorrow it is the turn of Metlen, Motor Oil and Fourlis.
More specifically, in today's session, the General Index is up slightly by 0.24% to 1,427.50 points, gaining 3.5 points compared to Friday's close (1,424.04 points).
The arc of daily fluctuations extends to 12 points (from 1,419.17 to 1,441.81 points), with a turnover of 57 million euros, of which 4.6 million euros are pre-agreed packages.
The banking index is almost unchanged at +0.08% and 1,242 points, about 8% off the year's highs (1,349 points), but also gaining 17% through 2024.
Piraeus shares retreat to -0.92% and EUR 3.431 (5-month low), Alpha Bank shares retreat to -1.73% and EUR 1.4755 (7-month low), National Bank shares trade at -0.62% and EUR 7.97, while Eurobank shares dynamically strengthen to +2.52% and EUR 2.153.
In the high-cap index (+0.32% and 3,464 points), Titan Cement's shares are down -3% and EUR 29.7, with shares of GEK Terna and Autohellas losing 1.7% each. Helleniq Energy, Lamda Development and Viohalco are down at least 1%. On the flip side, Motor Oil's shares, which currently vest in the EUR 1.4 dividend, soar +3.05% to EUR 25.1. At the same time, despite today's cut, OPAP shares gain 1%, with OTE shares re-approaching 14 euros (+2.1%) and Coca-Cola returning to 32.2 euros (+1.4%).
As for the mid-cap index (-0.10% and 2,270 points), the shares of EXAE stand out negatively at -3.9% and 4.6 euros, which are year lows. PPA, AVAX, Quest, Profile, and Dimand retreat by more than 1%, while Epsilon shares lose 2.4% and return to 12 euros, the price of the public offer of the main shareholders. On the contrary, Optima Bank's shares soar +3% and reach a new all-time high. Intralot, on the other hand, "rides" +5.1% and 1.15 euros. A special mention should be made of Intercontinental, which sinks into the limit due to the cut in the large dividend (46% yield).
