Market Monitor- Market Comment – In the Spotlight
- Market Comment
Stocks ended higher, clawing back some of the lost ground, but volumes remain quite thin. Yet, improving sentiment on major international indices assisted in momentum boosting rebound near day highs at the closing auctions.
General Index ended at 854.22 points yesterday, adding 1.83% to Tuesday’s 838.83 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.85% to end up at 2,045.55 points. The banks index advanced 1.51%, as Piraeus improved 2.27%, Alpha followed with a 2.14% increase, National grew 1.50% and Eurobank obtained 0.50%.
- All but one blue chips enjoyed a rise, as Viohalco jumped 4.93%, Titan Cement collected 4.41%, ElvalHalcor earned 4.37%, Jumbo fetched 3.97%, OPAP gaming company rose 2.57%, ADMIE Holdings climbed 2.56% and Coca-Cola HBC edged up 2.49%. Sarantis went the opposite direction, dropping 0.35%. In total 94 stocks reported gains, 23 endured losses and 44 remained unchanged. Turnover amounted to €42.8m, down from Tuesday’s €47.8m.
A moderate bounce is expected today after two strong session of gains. ECB announcements in the spotlight.
- In the Spotlight
Greece/Current account: Greece’s current account balance showed a deficit of 1.4 billion euros in May, wider by 477 million euros y-o-y due as the value of imports outpaced that of exports, Bank of Greece said. “Exports increased by 59.6% and 25.9% at current and constant prices, respectively, while imports rose by 56.2% and 27.3% at current and constant prices, respectively,” BoG said. Non-oil exports of goods grew by 29.5% at current and non-oil imports by 40.4%.
- May services surplus dropped slightly y-o-y to 316 million euros. Transport balance declined but the travel balance and the other services balance improved y-o-y, the central bank said. Travel balance stood at 2.0 billion euros from 1.5 billion euros in May 2020. In the January-May period, the current account showed a deficit of 6.2 million euros, up 534 million euros y-o-y.
Banking Sector: The demand for loans to non-financial corporations and for housing and consumer credit increased “somewhat” in the second quarter, with banks expect the same trend to continue in the next quarter, according to a Bank Lending Survey conducted by the Bank of Greece. The overall terms and conditions for loans to NFCs remained almost unchanged compared with the first quarter and bank expect to remain so in the third quarter.
- NBG: National Bank said it has chosen the consortium of Bain Capital, Fortress and doValue as preferred bidder for a short period of exclusive negotiations for the sale of the 6.1 billion euros Frontier securitization. Replying to a query by the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission, NBG said that it “will keep investors updated on the progress of the transaction.” NBG has applied for opting in to the Hercules Asset Protection Scheme for the Frontier. The application relates to the provision of a guarantee by the state on the senior notes of an amount up to 3.31 million euros.
AthEx: The new ESG ATHEX index is set to launch at Athinon Avenue on August 2 and will initially include 35 stocks with a strong performance on environmental issues, on social responsibility and corporate governance. Its aim is to make more listed companies improve their status over one of the key issues concerning global investors and capital markets.
By 2025 at the latest, it is estimated that the Greek environment, social and governance (ESG) index will reach 60. Hellenic Exchanges Group Chief Executive Sokratis Lazaridis, meanwhile, said at the index’s presentation on Tuesday that the aim is to turn the entire General Index of the Greek bourse into an ESG index.
- The listed companies meeting the inclusion criteria for the ESG index are: Coca-Cola, OTE, Alpha Bank, Eurobank, OPAP, Mytilineos, National Bank, PPC, Jumbo, Piraeus Bank, Titan, Motor Oil, GEK Terna, Terna Energy, Lamda Development, Hellenic Petroleum, EYDAP, Ellaktor, ADMIE, Sarantis, Viohalco, Fourlis, Hellenic Exchanges, Quest, Thrace Plastics, Crete Plastics, Aegean, ΕlvalHalcor, Piraeus Port Authority, Cenergy, European Reliance, Athens Medical, Plaisio, Alumil and Inform Lycos.
Kloukinas: As of today the shares of the company are traded on the Athens Stock Exchange without the amount €0.02 per share, resulting from past years’ undistributed earnings. The above amount is subject to the tax imposed pursuant to the current legislation (net amount: €0.019 per share).
- Metallurgy Business Unit. The extension of contract is for two year, “after 60 years of uninterrupted cooperation, as Mytilineos is committed – in the framework of its strategy for sustainable development – to reduce emissions by 30% in all its activities by 2030 and to achieve climate-neutrality by 2050.” By 2030, Aluminium of Greece will cover all its electricity needs from RES, Mytilineos said.
In other news on July 20, Mytilineos bought 11,000 shares at €13.8/share for a total amount of €151.8K. Total treasury stands at 4.8245% of share capital or 6,893,793 shares.
Energy Sector: Investment interest for the installation of energy storage units is already considerable, even though related licensing and support mechanism frameworks have yet to be established, data presented yesterday by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has shown. According to the data, RAE, since October, 2019, has received 123 applications for prospective energy storage and pumped storage projects representing a total of 12,229 MW.
- Of these applications, 110 concern energy storage systems representing a total capacity of 9,102 MW, the RAE data showed. To date, RAE has already issued production licenses for 38 energy storage units with a total capacity of 3,582 MW.
A further 12 applications representing 2,447 MW are for pumped storage units, not including a Terna Energy project in Amfilohia, northwestern Greece. So far, RAE has issued three licenses for pumped storage facilities representing 807 MW.
ELVE: Ex-date for the 0.30 eur/share capital return set on November 11. Payment starts on December 7.
- THRACE PLASTICS: On July 16, the company bought 1,000 shares at €7.6/share for a total consideration of €7.6K.
Kind regards,
Manos Chatzidakis
Head of research
29 Alexandras Avenue
11473 Athens,Greece
Tel: +30 210 6478755/754
Email: mchatzid[email protected]