|
Investors were picking up cheap shares after what was
essentially a crash.
The Athens bourse's banking index <.FTATBNK> reversed early
losses and was 13 percent higher by mid-morning with all of its
constituent stocks in positive territory. They were led by a
nearly 22 percent jump in National Bank <NBGr.AT>, Greece's
largest lender.
The banking index had earlier dropped 3.6 percent. Alpha Bank <ACBr.AT>
reversed a 26 percent early loss to trade 7 percent higher.
"The market seems to have found an equilibrium after its deep
plunge. Buyers are having the upper hand despite the negative
start, and this has helped sentiment across the board," said
Takis Zamanis, chief trader at Beta Securities.
The broader market <.ATG> -- of which banking stocks make up
around 20 percent -- was up 3.7 percent. Only one of the 25
stocks in the blue-chip index <.ATF> was trading lower,
engineering contractor Metka <MTKr.AT>.
Telecoms provider OTE <OTEr.AT> was up 5.7 percent despite
posting a second-quarter loss due to a voluntary redundancy
scheme and a weak performance by its foreign operations.
Greece's banks need to be recapitalized after a flight of euros
from deposits for most of this year and mounting bad loans. But
that will hurt existing shareholders, when it comes, by diluting
the value of their holdings.
Athens and its international lenders share the view that banks
must complete their recapitalization by the end of this year and
avoid a haircut on large depositors, Greece's finance minister
said on Wednesday.
The European Union estimates the recapitalization may cost
between 10 billion euros and 25 billion euros.
"The key determinant for bank values remains the outcome of the
coming comprehensive assessment by regulators," said analyst
Nick Koskoletos at Athens-based Eurobank Equities.
"Trading is expected to remain highly volatile in the interim."
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and
Catherine Evans)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
