Greek equities finished the session higher on Wednesday, with gains concentrated in the Banking, Construction and Travel sectors that pushed the broader market up by a notable margin.
At the Athens close, the Athens General Composite rose 3.30%.
The session's top performers on the Athens General Composite included Viohalco SA (AT:VIOH), which climbed 10.11% or 1.26 points to finish at 13.72. Cenergy Holdings SA (AT:CENEr) added 9.49% or 1.85 points to close at 21.35, and Elvalhalcor Hellenic Copper and Aluminium Industry SA (AT:ELHA) gained 8.72% or 0.38 points to end the day at 4.80. Market notices indicated that shares of Viohalco SA rose to all-time highs, and shares of Cenergy Holdings SA likewise rose to all-time highs.
Among decliners, Dimand Societe Anonyme for Real Estate Constructions (AT:DIMANDr) was the weakest performer of the session, falling 1.56% or 0.20 points to trade at 12.65 at the close. Quest Holdings (AT:IQTr) decreased 0.58% or 0.04 points to finish at 6.87, while Ekter (AT:EKTr) slipped 0.46% or 0.02 points to end at 4.30.
Market breadth favored advancers: rising stocks outnumbered decliners on the Athens Stock Exchange by 90 to 26, and 16 issues finished unchanged.
Commodities trading saw notable moves during the session. Gold Futures for April delivery rose 2.31% or 113.16 to $5,019.06 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for April delivery increased 3.24% or 2.02 to $64.28 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract advanced 3.10% or 2.09 to trade at $69.51 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was unchanged, moving 0.24% to 1.18, and EUR/GBP was unchanged, moving 0.14% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.26% at 97.32.
Overall, the session closed with broad participation to the upside across key industrial and commodity-linked names, while a limited set of real estate and construction issues recorded modest declines. The trading day combined strong stock market breadth with pronounced moves in precious metals and energy contracts.
Key points
- Athens General Composite closed up 3.30% at the Athens session close.
- Top gainers included Viohalco SA and Cenergy Holdings SA, both reaching all-time highs; Elvalhalcor also recorded a strong advance.
- Commodities saw significant gains: April gold futures rose sharply and crude oil and Brent contracts both climbed more than 3%.
Risks and uncertainties
- Market concentration in a few large movers could increase volatility - sectors impacted include banking, construction, travel and industrials.
- Price moves in commodities such as gold and oil introduce uncertainty for commodity-linked stocks and sectors exposed to raw-material costs.