The Athens Stock Exchange tried and finally managed to withstand the pressure and “hold” the 1080 level, as well as a positive signal, despite the predominance of sellers for most of the session.

A “reversal” in many index-weighted securities in the last hour of the session supported the overall index, while sentiment in European stock markets was also cautious in anticipation of Fed and ECB interest rate decisions.

Thus, in the statistics of the session, the General Index closed with an increase of 0.22% to 1087.49 points, from -0.87% and 1075.66 points it reached intra-session, and the turnover amounted to 66.13 million euros.

The Large Cap Index closed up 0.18% to 2628.82 points, almost unchanged, while the Mid Cap Index closed up -0.01% to 1607.8 points, while the banking index fell 0.30% up to 792.5 points.

The general index closed at 1,087.49 points with a turnover of 66.13 million euros.

Among the blue chips, EYDAP stood out with +3.81%, Ellactor with +3.24% and Lamda Development with +3.04%, while Aegean closed with an increase of more than 2% and a profit of more than 1 % Piraeus Bank, PPC, OPAP, Quest and Sarantis. On the other hand, Viohalco shares fell 3.32%, ELVALHALCOR closed at -2.99%, and Eurobank, Mytilineos and TERNA Energy closed with losses of more than 1%.

Positive analyst sentiment on the AA continues to support the market as Goldman Sachs said yesterday that it prefers the Athens Stock Exchange to all emerging markets in Europe. The Greek market is one of the few that is expected to rise more than 10% over a 12-month period, he noted, as he forecasts the overall index to rise to 1,200 units.

At the same time, Eurobank Equities reiterated its Buy recommendation for Greek banks, although it noted that some attention is needed in the short term due to the elections, which are likely to cause fluctuations in the investment climate. However, the brokerage stressed that the very positive outlook for the sector remains unchanged, while Greek banks enjoy a combination of strong liquidity and a healthy capital cushion. The return to dividend distribution will be a key catalyst for Greek banks as it will mark their return to normalcy, he added, expecting Ethniki to kick off in 2023 (with 2022 earnings), followed by Alpha Bank and Piraeus next year. (from 2023 profit).

Despite the positive developments and favorable comments from the chambers, the hazy picture that has developed in the middle of the pre-election period in the Greek stock market remains, as Dimitris Tsanas of Kyklos Chrimatistiraki comments. Thus, trading fell sharply, buyers took a wait-and-see attitude, and many investors hoped to make a profit.

This is also the result of the international banking crisis in the US and inevitably leads to managers also liquidating the securities of Greek banks, ignoring the promising prospects they embody. As a result, Mr. Tzanas concludes, 1045 points is now the nearest support for the overall index.