Market Comment
Weakness in banking sector may be offset by interest in non-finacials. Nevertheless, we see most of the impact of government measures incorporated already in the prices therefore we see limited downside.
AthEx has risen to highs unseen since September 26 after notching up fresh gains on Friday. Industrial and energy stocks drove the market higher on a day of gains for the vast majority of stocks, albeit with the lowest turnover of the last 12 sessions.
General Index closed at 1,469.32 points, adding 0.36% to Thursday’s 1,464.03 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 0.88%. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.32%, ending at 3,584.43 points, and the banks index improved 0.47%, as National grabbed 1.03%, Piraeus advanced 0.59% and Eurobank rose 0.09%, while Alpha gave up 0.12%. ElvalHalcor soared 3.72%, Autohellas earned 2.37%, EYDAP augmented 2.08% and Aegean Airlines fetched 1.98%. In total 83 stocks collected gains, 35 posted losses and 43 remained unchanged. Turnover amounted to €93.8m, down from Thursday’s €136.4m.
Weakness in banking sector may be offset by interest in non-finacials. Nevertheless, we see most of the impact of government measures incorporated already in the prices therefore we see limited downside.
¢ In the Spotlight
Cyprus/S&P: Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings raised on Friday its long-term sovereign credit ratings on Cyprus to A- from BBB+. It also affirmed its short-term rating of A-2, adding that the outlook for Cyprus is “stable.” “The stable outlook reflects the balanced risks to Cyprus’ creditworthiness over the next 24 months,” S&P said. “On the one hand, geopolitical tensions in the country’s immediate neighborhood could weigh on growth and stability. On the other, the increasing resilience and reduced dependency on short-term external financing of Cyprus’ foreign-owned banking system has reduced balance-of-payment and contingent fiscal vulnerabilities considerably,” it added.
News are positive for Bank of Cyprus and Eurobank.
Banks: Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, will elaborate on the bank measures announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday during the approval of the 2025 budget. The press conference will be held on Monday, at 11:00. Measures are the following:
§ NII charge for payment of bills and debts to the state, social security funds, local authorities, energy, water, telecommunications, and insurance companies, via digital networks (web-banking/mobile banking) (from 0.6 euros, which currently costs 0.6 euros in most cases).
§ Reduction of fees for transferring money between banks: maximum charge of 0.5 euros for sending money (outgoing remittance) and 0.5 euros for receiving money (incoming remittance), for amounts up to 5,000 euros per remittance, for individuals and self-employed persons, between banks. It concerns both simple transfers and direct credit transfers (SEPA). This corresponds to a reduction in the cost of these fees of between 50% and 80% depending on the bank and the type of transfer (from 1 to 2.5 euros, which is what it currently costs).
§ No charge for cash withdrawals from an ATM of another bank other than the one where the account is held in remote and island areas where there is only one bank’s ATM. In addition, nationwide, zero charge for account or card balance inquiries at ATMs of other banks (from around €0.2 currently in force).
§ 50% reduction in card transaction costs for small retail purchases up to €20 (from €10 recently introduced).
§ No charge for loading prepaid cards for a loading amount of up to 100 euros (from approximately 1 euro currently in force
§ Facilitate the use of IRIS by establishing discrete limits to allow for direct and free transfers of money between individuals up to EUR 500 per day, in addition to EUR 500 per day for direct payments to self-employed/individual businesses
§ Doubling of Taxes for vacant residential properties owned by banks and servicers to be channeled into the market.
§ Enhancing competition in the financial system and access to credit by removing restrictions on financing by Credit Providers.
§ Transparency and the information framework for citizens are strengthened, who will now be able to compare interest rates on deposits and credit, as well as charges associated with payment accounts. This information will be available on the website of the CBE.
§ Voluntary Contribution by Systemic Banks: Systemic banks will provide an amount of 100 million, augmenting the available resources of the Marietta Giannakou Programme for the reconstruction of even more schools. The aim is for the economy to grow dynamically and for this growth to be shared equitably among all citizens.
Reportedly, the recurring revenue loss from popular payments (PPC, OTE, municipalities, water supply, etc.) which commissions that are zeroed out and the half-euro cap on remittances up to 5,000 euros, the total, according to rough amounts to about €100m. Doubling of ENFIA which may in total be around 40 million euros, but for residential properties, it amounts to around 20 million euros.
Greece/Economy: The Greek Government proceeded with the early repayment of three installments of the bilateral loans from the first bailout package on Friday Dec. 13. The estimated amount being paid is 7.935 billion euros. The early repayment of the Greek loan was made using 5 billion euros from the cash buffer that the ESM has “unlocked,” while the remaining 2.935 billion euros came from Greece’s “free” cash reserves. Greece had already repaid 5.29 billion euros in 2023 from the Greek Loan Facility (GLF) and fully settled its debt to the IMF in 2022. The latest repayment is expected to reduce the overall debt and improve the country’s creditworthiness, as Greece has now returned to investment-grade status.
Greece/Economy: 2025 greenlighted yesterday by 159 parliament members positive votes.
Trade Estates: The REIT trades today ex FY:24 net interim dividend €0.044706/share (2.9% DY).
Ideal Holdings: As of today, the trading of the 303 common bearer bonds of the company ceases and they are cancelled from the ATHEX. On December 16, 2024, the total number of listed bonds of the company amounts to 99,697 bonds.
Attica group: EGM cleared absorption of all passenger shipping activities of the group by Blue Star Ferries SA.
Aegean Air: Autohellas bought on December 12 27.7K shares for €279.432K (€10.09/share).
Sarantis: major shareholder and BoD chairman Mr. K. Sarantis bought on December 10 1K shares at €10.7/share.
Alpha Bank: Mr. Tsitsiragkos appointed as new BOD chairman replacing Mr. Rapanos.
Admie Holdings: 9M:24 results out today.
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