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Athens Stock Exchange: Skepticism versus interest in banking stocks

ΛΙΑΚΟΣ ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ / INTIME NEWS

The sell-off so far may have focused on Chinese stocks, but pressure has already mounted on stocks in Europe, the US and other parts of Asia, whose businesses are being hit by demand from China.

China’s economic slowdown is seen undermining the outlook for companies in markets that rely on the world’s second-largest economy.

The sell-off so far may have focused on Chinese stocks, but pressure has already mounted on stocks in Europe, the US and other parts of Asia, whose businesses are being hit by demand from China.
In Athens, estimates so far had been optimistic. However, reservations seem to be increasing as managers seek to hedge against China’s risks by selling off positions amid deepening recession.

At the end of the third week of August, the general index recorded weekly losses of 1.83%, monthly losses of 5.40%, while it showed a year-on-year performance of +35.87%.
Banks remain at the center of interest and despite the decline in turnover per session, the turnover of banks as a percentage of the total turnover on the Athens stock exchange is increasing day by day.

Moreover, the last week did not have any negative developments to dampen risk sentiment for the fourth week in a row. The summer holidays were the main reason for the weakness of equities. But some reasons for pessimism may also be related to reservations regarding China’s economic growth, which seems stagnant despite the Chinese authorities’ measures to revive it.  The US Treasury yields also weighed following the release of the minutes of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting. Perhaps because they also seemed to affect bond markets in Europe.

However, there is room for an upward trend of about 100 points, but this is not expected to happen over the next few days. Managers at the international level are now seeking to find investment havens that will protect their capital.