Market Monitor by Manos Chatzidakis

Market Comment

 

General Index continued to slide on Tuesday as the benchmark edged mighty close to the psychological threshold of 1,000 points, registering a new 12-month low. That was the fifth consecutive negative session for General Index while October has not seen yet a positive sign at the close. Foreign markets volatility along with negative domestic sentiment may keep weakness on main large caps extending drop below the 1,000 mark in today’s session.

Greek parliament begins debate on coalition govt’s request for a vote of confidence at 6pm in Athens.

¢           In the Spotlight

ASE: Foreign investors remained net buyers for the 23rd successive month in the Athens Stock Exchange in September, with net capital inflows totalling 104.82 million euros, while Greek investors were net sellers with capital outflows totaling 104.06 million euros. Foreign investors participation in the capitalisation of the Greek market reached 60.9 pct in September, from 61.0 pct the previous month, although if the participation of Hellenic Financial Stability Fund were taken into account (27.8 pct of market capitalisation), foreign investors’ participation stood at 44.0 pct, increased by 0.2% from August.

The value of transactions totalled 2.00 billion euros in September, up 10.3 pct from August, but up a staggering 65.8 pct from September 2013. Average Daily Value of Transactions in September 2014 was €99.78 million which is increased compared to the previous month (€99.53 million) and increased compared to the same month of the previous year (€63.03 million).. The number of Active Investors Accounts for September reached 22,822 accounts compared to 20,229 of the previous month (September 2013: 29,044).

Greece/IMF Estimates: The latest International Monetary Fund forecast on joblessness in Greece revised the expected level of unemployment for this year down to 25.8 percent from 26.3 percent six months ago, and the figure for 2015 to 23.8 percent from 24.4 percent in April. The IMF reiterated its forecast for gross domestic product to recover 0.6 percent this year followed by growth of 2.9 percent in 2015, in line with government expectations. Inflation will remain negative in 2014, at a rate of -0.8 percent (from -0.4 percent in April), which is seen turning to a positive rate of 0.3 percent next year.

Greece/26-Week T-Bills: Greece will auction today EUR875m in 26-Week Treasury bills. Previous yield stood at 2.0%.

Greece/Retail Sales: Retail sales volume grew 4.8 pct in July this year, Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Tuesday. The statistics service, in a report, said that the volume of sales grew by 18.3 pct in bookstores, 10.3 pct in clothing/footwear, 3.9 pct in fuel/lubricants, 3.3 pct in supermarkets and 2.3 pct in pharmaceuticals/cosmetics. On the other hand, the volume of sales fell in food/beverage/tobacco (6.7 pct), home equipment (5.0 pct) and department stores (0.2 pct). The volume index (turnover in fixed prices) rose 4.8 pct in July after a 2.8 pct increase recorded in July 2013, while the turnover index (current prices) rose 1.5 pct in July, after a 0.7 pct decline recorded in the same month last year.

Greece/Privatizations: Six properties sold yesterday through the electronic platform of e-public real estate brought the state revenues of 10,325,000 euros, the state privatisation agency HRADF said in an announcement. The sale price was 14% higher than corresponding starting prices. Another three properties - in the Evia Lake district (off the western Attica coast), Patras and the former Justice of the Peace Court in Klitoria (both in the northern Peloponnese) - did not get the desired price, a development that HRADF will assess shortly.

Gaming: Illegal gaming on radio and television should be banned, the Commmittee for the Gaming Supervision and Control (EEEP) recommended in a report to Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis on Tuesday, to protect the public and especially young people and sensitive social groups. In a review before the parliament's Institutions and Transparency Committee in July, committee head Evgenios Giannakopoulos had said that turnover from illegal gaming operations in Greece is estimated at between 5.5 billion and 6 billion euros for 2013.

Coca-Cola HBC AG: The company announced that it will release its results for the 2014 nine months ended 26 September 2014  on Thursday, 6 November 2014 at 8:00 am Swiss Time, 7:00 am London Time, 9:00 am Athens Time, 2:00 am New York Time. Coca-Cola HBC's management will host a conference call for investors and analysts the same day

Piraeus Bank: The Board of Directors of Piraeus Bank, during its session on Tuesday, October 7th, 2014, decided to call the Extraordinary General Meeting on October 30 to decide on the merger of Geniki bank.