Index rebounded following a two-day correction.
Banks drew again market’s attention in the wake of Alpha Bank’s rejection for a merger with National Bank, while recent reports of foreign firms such as Nomura fueled speculation for an improved offer by NBG.
Banking index moved in a wide margin of 4% or 58.5 units, which indicates the nervous sentiment, while Hellenic Postbank and Eurobank topped FTSE20’s profits.
National Bank’s share mostly moved in negative territory, posting intraday losses of 3.63%, while Alpha Bank’s course was characterized by high volatility, as it had been moving in a margin of 9.6%.
Analysts note that the domestic market will continue to be affected by NBG’s proposal for a merger with Alpha Bank and they expect increased volatility to remain, particularly in the banks’ shares.
Eurobank Equities commented that global sentiment remains fragile and domestically lack of news flow does not allow a major reversal of the trend, according to its morning report.
Kyprou Securities stated that it remains cautious on the ASE as the international environment is not supportive on Greek equities at the moment.
"A spate of unconfirmed rumors involving any number of bank merger combinations are sparking buying interest despite the absence of real substance," Louis Nikolopoulos, banking analyst at Marfin Analysis-IBG told Dow Jones Newswires.
"Selected banking stocks are re-rating again after deflating on domestic M&A stalemates over the previous two sessions", he added.
Across the board, the General Index ended at 1629.72 point, up 0.64%, after a fluctuation of 40 units. Approximately 48.28mn units worth EUR161.46mn were traded, while a total amount of 92 shares rose, 71 declined and 121 remained unchanged.
Banks recorded gains of 1.87%, at 1482.39 units. Hellenic Postbank and Eurobank soared by 8.33% and 7.17%, with Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank and Attica Bank following with profits of 4.08%, 3.7% and 3.67% respectivly. Geniki Bank and ATE Bank rose by 1.47% and 1.23% respectively.
source: CAPITAL
