The Athens, Greece, Stock Exchange Holidays:

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007

Forex Daily Market News

Wednesday 28,

The Greek market advanced sharply yesterday gaining 4.13%.

The banks increased by an impressive 7.48% on the aftermath of the stress test results and various M&A rumors for the sector.

Trading volume stood at €228m.

European markets ended higher, while US bourses finished little changed on a weaker than expected consumer confidence report.

Today European markets are set to open mixed with investors keeping an eye on the US durable goods orders and Fed’s Beige book.

In the domestic market we expect banks to remain in focus, while some light profit taking given yesterdays rally may not be ruled out.

Tuesday, 27

The Greek market advanced 2.18% yesterday, led by banks (+4.53%) and CCH (+2.89%).

Trading volume stood at €108m.

International markets also finished higher on EU banks stress test results and better than expected US home sales.

Today, European markets are seen opening flat to lower, with investors keeping an eye on corporate results (BP, UBS, Deutsche Bank) and US consumer confidence data.

We expect a flattish opening in the domestic market, yet the overall sentiment is improved.

Monday, 26

The Greek market finished 1.36% lower on Friday, led by the banking sector (-1.18%), CCH (- 2.32%) and OTE (-3.87%).

Trading volume reached €101m.

On the contrary, international markets advanced, with US stocks rebounding late in the afternoon following the results of the EU banks stress tests and M&A speculation in the pharmaceutical sector.

European markets are seen opening higher today. We expect a positive opening in the domestic market as well, with the banking sector being in focus, as almost all major banks passed the stress tests easily.

Friday, 23

Financial bookmakers expect to see the leading European benchmark indexes opening flat to slightly higher on Friday, following the previous session's rally, as investors eagerly awaited results from the banking sector's stress tests.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open up 1 to 10 points higher, Germany's DAX unchanged to up 6 points, and France's CAC-40 down 1 point to up 5 points.

At this point, the market seems to have priced in the tests, as investors believe Europe won't shot itself in the foot by revealing very negative surprises.

But to be credible, there has to be some damage. Overall, the impact for stocks could be relatively limited. There won't be euphoria after the results because we know they won't completely reassure the market. In an effort to calm investors' jitters over the potential impact of the euro zone debt crisis on Europe's banking system, regulators are assessing how 91 banks across Europe would cope with another economic downturn, and the results are expected to be published on Friday.

The overall results from the tests are not expected to trigger strong ripple effects on stocks as details of the results have already been leaked while major banks are seen as relatively solid.

Among the large listed banks, the biggest lingering doubts are around Commerzbank, Banco Popolare, a few Spanish banks such as Sabadell as well as the Greek banks.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares gained 2.1 percent on Thursday, on mounting optimism ahead of the stress tests and rallying along with U.S. stocks after earnings from economic bellwethers 3M, UPS and Caterpillar reassured on the health of the economy.

After the bell on Wall Street, Microsoft beat forecasts with a 48 percent rise in quarterly profit. The FTSEurofirst 300, down 0.6 percent on the year, is on track to record a weekly gain of 2.6 percent.

Thursday, 22

Financial bookmakers expect to see leading European benchmark stock indexes falling on Thursday, mirroring losses on Wall Street after dour comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the U.S. economy.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open 39-42 points lower, or as much as 0.8 percent, Germany's DAX to open around 39 points, or 0.7 percent lower, and France's CAC-40 to open 39-43 points, or as much as 1.2 percent down.

Bernanke said the outlook for the U.S. economy as "unusually uncertain", adding the Fed stood ready to ease monetary policy further if the recovery withered. U.S. stocks dropped after Bernanke's comments, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 1.1 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 falling 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 1.6 percent.

Wednesday, 21

European shares look set to rally, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and in Asia, with investors confidence in corporate earnings bolstered by strong results from Apple.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open 49-50 points higher, or up 1 percent; Germany's DAX was seen up 47-48 points, or 0.8 percent higher, and France's CAC 40 was expected to add 34-35 points, or 1.5 percent.

After U.S. markets closed, Apple Inc gave an unusually upbeat revenue forecast that exceeded Wall Street's expectations and eased fears that the controversy around its iPhone 4 reception would hurt sales.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.04 percent higher at 1,006.64 points on Tuesday, as European stocks paused after a one-week losing run.

Later in the session, investors are likely to closely watch corporate results from financial firms Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo while eBay will report quarterly earnings after U.S. markets close.

Tuesday, 20

The Greek market advanced by 0.85% yesterday, led by the banking sector (+2.50%) and PPC (+2.91%).

Trading volume stood at €110m.

European markets closed lower amid Ireland’s downgrade and poor US housing data, whereas US bourses advanced.

European markets are expected to open higher today with investors focusing on 2Q10 corporate results (Goldman Sachs and Apple) and on US building permits data.

We expect a similar opening for the domestic market.

Monday, 19

On Friday, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares fell 2 percent to 1,012.94 points, and is down more than 9 percent from a mid-April peak, partly on worries about debt levels in Europe and doubts about the strength of the global economic recovery.

But the index is up nearly 57 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, 2009.

On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.5 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 2.9 percent.

Bank of America, the biggest U.S. bank, slid more than 9 percent after its quarterly earnings disappointed and the S&P financial index dropped 4.4 percent as investors fretted about how banks will make money going forward.

European shares are set to slip back, adding to steep losses on Friday, when disappointing quarterly earnings and weak consumer sentiment data from the United States hurt equities worldwide.

Friday, 16

The ASE GI advanced by 2.22% yesterday with the banking sector gaining 6.53% following Piraeus Bank’s offers for ATEbank and Hellenic Postbank.

Trading volume reached €164m.

On the contrary, European markets finished lower on weak US macro data.

US bourses ended mixed reverting early losses following BP’s announcement that it has stopped the oil flow in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today, European markets are set to open higher tracking the late recovery in the US.

Investors will focus on BofA’s and Citigroup’s earnings releases, as well as the US’s CPI and the U of Michigan Confidence.

In the domestic market, Piraeus Bank’s offer spurred euphoria especially in the banking sector and fuelled numerous M&A scenarios, which is positive for the market.

We expect a positive start today, though profit taking cannot be ruled out.

Thursday, 15

U.S. stocks broke a six-day winning streak on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending a fraction lower after the Federal Reserve's minutes showed officials are more concerned with the pace of economic recovery, adding to worries stoked by a weak report on June retail sales.

Asian stocks were lower on Thursday, but with losses pared after a spate of Chinese data confirmed the economy was slowing gradually but delivered no nasty surprises.

China's annual economic growth eased to 10.3 percent in the second quarter from 11.9 percent in the first quarter, a touch weaker than expected, in response to credit curbs and the fading of government fiscal stimulus.

Nevertheless, the data showed concerns about a steep slowdown in the world's third-largest economy were overblown. Inflation at the producer and consumer level also eased in June from May, reducing the need for further policy tightening.

U.S. banking giant JPMorgan is among the companies reporting later on Thursday, as the second-quarter earnings season gathers pace.

Investors will also look at U.S. weekly jobless claims for further indications of the strength of the recovery in the world's biggest economy.

European shares are set to open slightly lower, tracking Wall Street and Asia, after the Federal Reserve suggested additional measures may be needed to combat a weakening economy, and mixed Chinese data.

Wednesday, 14

European shares are set to extend a rally into a seventh straight session today, after U.S. firm Intel's quarterly results powered ahead of analysts expectations, reinforcing hopes for strong corporate earnings for the second-quarter.

Intel, the world's top micro-chip maker, reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations, allaying fears that companies may be slowing down their spending on technology.

The upbeat results, which came after the closing bell on Wall Street, helped Asian stocks rise to a three-week high on Wednesday supported by gains in technology issues.

European shares rose to a three-week closing high on Tuesday, gaining for the sixth straight session, after impressive results from some major U.S. companies.

* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks powered by Intel; euro steady
* Wall St rallies on profits; Intel gains late
* Nikkei surges past resistance, gains 2.8 pct on Intel
* TREASURIES-Bond prices fall as investors choose stocks
* FOREX-Euro hovers near 2-mth high; Aussie holds firm
* PRECIOUS-Gold steady as euro debt woes support, SPDR flat
* METALS-Base metals drift; earnings support, data worries
* Oil steadies near two-week high on earnings optimism

Tuesday, 13

European shares are seen extending their rally into a sixth straight session today as better-than-expected quarterly earnings from U.S. firm Alcoa boosted investor confidence that the latest round of earnings from the U.S could exceed estimates.

Gains, however, could be limited after reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, touching a nerve among investors who are already sensitive to how much China's economy is slowing and hurting Asian shares.

Individual companies likely to be in focus on Tuesday include BP after the oil major said it had installed and was ready to test a cap that, if successful, would for the first time stop the oil spewing from its ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminium producer, posted a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit on Monday and raised its estimate for global aluminium consumption, sending its shares up 3 percent.

Second quarter results from Intel Corp are expected on Tuesday, with JPMorgan Chase reporting on Thursday and Bank of America, Citigroup and General Electric on Friday.

Monday, 12

Financial bookmakers expect to see the leading European benchmark indexes rising on Monday, adding to last week's strong rally, as robust trade figures from China
helped boost sentiment about the global economy ahead of the earnings season.

Data showed over the weekend that China's exports rose 43.9 percent in June from a year earlier and imports were up 34.1 percent.

European stocks climbed on Friday, posting their biggest weekly rise in a year, as concerns over the global economy and European banks' stress tests moved to the back burner while investors' focus turned to the earnings season, to be kicked off on Monday by U.S. aluminium major Alcoa.

Friday, 9

The Greek market ended 2.23% higher on Thursday led by banks (+3.94%) and PPC (+4.12%), whereas Fourlis closed 4.41% lower.

Trading volume stood at €124m.

European markets also advanced driven by financials, while US bourses posted sharp gains after the announcement of positive jobless claims data.

European markets are expected to continue higher today. We expect a positive start in the domestic market as well, with investors focusing on banks in the aftermath of BoC’s rights issue announcement.

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