The Athens Stock Exchange may have finished at the highest level of the day, but the comparison with the booming foreign markets was... relentless.

That's because, after last night's aggressive 50 basis point cut in US interest rates, the Stoxx 600 is now up at least +1.2% and the Dow Jones is jumping almost 500 points, setting the stage for new all-time records.

The picture in Athens, on the other hand, which managed to find a rudimentary pace only towards the end of the day, certainly does not leave investors satisfied, with the market remaining stuck in the 1,400-1,450 range for the 27th consecutive session.

Specifically, on the 4th day of the week, the General Index posted a mild increase of just 0.63% to 1,428.39 points, gaining about nine points from Wednesday's close (1,419.50 points).

The arc of daily fluctuations was fixed at 12 points (from 1,416.78 to 1,428.42 points), with a turnover of 125 million euros, of which 17.4 million euros were pre-agreed packages.

The banking index, without impressing, finished just +0.57% and 1,226 points, still about 9.5% away from this year's highs (1,354 points).

Alpha shares gained +1.50% and 1,592 euros, Eurobank shares followed at +1.12% and 1,992 euros, Piraeus shares traded +0.71% and 3.82 euros, while Ethniki shares were limited to -0.49% and 7,298 euros.

In the high-cap index (+0.71% and 3,463 points), OTE's shares were at their highest level since July 2023, climbing +1.6% and 15.4 euros. Lamda's shares approached this year's record highs (7.6 euros), thanks to today's +3.3%, which brought them to 7.49 euros. PPC shares also rose 3%, while Metlen, Titan Cement, Viohalco, Sarantis and EYDAP gained at least 1%. On the flip side, shares of Coca-Cola and Autohellas retreated by 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. OPAP followed at -0.5%.

As for the mid-cap index (+0.76% and 2,323 points), attention focused mainly on Intralot, which stood out at +3.1% and €1.16 ahead of its entry into the FTSE Russell Mid Cap. Close to historic highs of 5.4 euros, Profile shares also closed up 3%. Intrakat and EYATH rose 2%, with shares in Ideal, Lavipharm and Intracom following at +1%. Conversely, Kri-Kri shares corrected from consecutive record highs, retracing -3% and €13.