The Athens Stock Exchange moved strongly up for the fifth consecutive session, and the overall index, apparently, was striving for record highs for the year. Although turnover continued to move at a relatively low level, which is “explained” by the pre-election period we are in, which makes portfolios more “collected”, buying movements again prevailed, with interest in banks and selected blue chips.

Investors’ eyes this week, in addition to the results of the first quarter of listed companies, are also riveted to the decisions of MSCI (May 11) regarding the restructuring of its indices, while analysts do not exclude new Greek additions. It is noted that the main MSCI index for Greece currently includes 10 stocks, OTE, OPAP, Jumbo, PPC, Eurobank, Alpha Bank, National Bank, Mytilineos, TERNA Energy and Motor Oil.

The general index closed with an increase of 0.96% to 1121.9 points, and the turnover amounted to 74.14 million euros. The Large Cap Index edged up 1.31% to 2,728.69 while the Mid-Cap Index closed up 1.75% to 1,652.65.

This is the fifth consecutive profit session and the market is moving to new highs for the year.

In non-banking blue chips, Aegean, GEK TERNA, PPC and Lamda Development closed up over 2%, while PPA, OPAP, OTE and Titan posted gains over 1%. On the other hand, losses of over 1% were recorded by Coca-Cola, Quest and HELLENiQ ENERGY.

The banking index rose better, climbing 3.57% to 863.55 points, with the National Bank closing up +4.88%, Eurobank up +3.99%, Alfa-bank +3.05% and Bank Piraeus up +1.28%. It is now about two weeks before the first election campaign and the scoreboard is not showing any significant concerns, possibly also influenced by the polls, according to Depolas Investment Services. Of course, the excellent performance of many listed companies also contributes to a good climate, but also the fact that we are entering a period of dividend payments, and in most cases really high ones, for a large number of companies.

Everything shows that investors are not only not afraid of “tomorrow”, but also believe that reaching investment grade is only a matter of time, as Ilias Zacharakis of Fast Finance commented. Technically, the zone of 1125 units is a resistance point for the General Index, and in the event of a breakdown of these levels upwards, the AX indicator will record new annual highs (1133 points are still the highs of 2023).

According to him, the banking sector has not suffered from problems on the other side of the Atlantic, which indicates that it is now a major player and market driver. The results of listed companies continue to give positive signals, while all macroeconomic data show that they are not only within the target indicators, but in some cases much better.