Athens Stock Exchange reached 13-year lows, as the General Index ended Wednesday’s session close to 1,370 units for the first time since February 1997. Banks remain under constant pressure while Greek spreads soar.
Banks’ losses in the last ten sessions are up to 10%, while today’s closure reached a 14-year low.
Analysts appear extremely cautious for the near future, stressing that the catalyst to reverse the sharply downward trend in the Greek market can only come from the political “scene”. They note that the forthcoming meetings of Eurogroup and Ecofin, scheduled for 17th and 18th of January, will be decisive to the extension of the repayment period of Greece bailout loan.
Piraeus and Marfin share capital increases will draw liquidity hurting the Greek Stock Exchange, said Kyprou Securities in its morning report. “Short term weakness is possible but capital increases should enhance the ASE-listed banks’ balance sheets and therefore the ASE itself in the long-term”.
Kyprou Sec. expects the Greek market to record index low in early 2011 and gradually rise after that, “considering current information and expectations of the IMF/EU support plan mentioning some GDP growth for Greece in 2011H2."
Across the board, the General Index ended at 1373.91 points, down 1.62%, moving on negative ground throughout the trading session. Approximately 25.77mn units worth EUR 94.25mn were traded, while 129 shares recorded losses, 32 rose and 127 remained unchanged.
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