August started for the Athens Stock Exchange with a jump of more than 860 points in the General Index, with banks leading the trend after very good second quarter results announced by the National Bank and the Eurobank.

Slight fluctuations in European markets, Italian ten-year bond yields declined.

In more detail, the General Index posted a 1.50% increase to close at 863.81 points on a turnover of 60.74 million euros. The Large Cap Index rose 1.88% to 2088.63, up 0.71%, the Midcap Index closed at 1372.97, while the Banking Index rose 5.91% to 551. 93 points. Blue chips include Alpha Bank with +6.91%, Eurobank with +5.89%, Piraeus with +5.44%, Titan with +5.18% and Ethniki with +5.02%, followed by growth of more than 3% for Biohalco and ELVALHalcor, while Jumbo and Quest recorded a decline of more than 2%. Reserving 862 units could see a move into the 885 zone, according to Ilias Zacharakis of Fast Finance. August is a month characterized by low trading activity, despite everything, he also presented his surprises several times, he adds.

European markets were virtually flat yesterday, as recessionary fears were balanced by encouraging results from European companies such as HSBC, which raised its earnings target by raising its shares 6%. The pan-European EuroStoxx 600 index closed marginally higher, while it rose 0.2% during the session. London’s FTSE 100 ended marginally down 0.02%, while the Frankfurt Xetra DAX closed marginally up 0.09%. The Paris CAC 40 index also closed with a slight decrease of -0.19%. Meanwhile, Italian government bonds rose yesterday and 10-year bond yields fell below 3% for the first time since May, as investors bet that whichever government emerges from September’s early elections will be forced to stay on the path of reform. , so as not to lose the 200 billion euros that Rome is entitled to receive from the Recovery Fund.​​​​​​​​