A painful circle closes the Greek market of Stock market Having returned to 1,700 units, which was in February 2011.
In particular, the total capitalization of the stock market market has caught its levels to see since September 2008, when the index was at 2,400 points.
The average daily trading activity itself was launched at 2009 levels, while a record of more than 16 years is recorded in dividend distribution.
The domestic market is overflowing with an exuberant image of protagonists with total capitalization exceeding € 118 billion. The last time the ATHEX had seen such an assessment was on September 12, 2008 and the General Index was negotiating around 3,100 units.
The date is not accidental, it is the stay of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy. Moody’s upgrading of the Greek economy seals the closure of the crisis cycle as the debtor has returned – along with market capitalization – to pre -crisis levels. Since the beginning of 2025, total capitalization has increased by € 15 billion.
Investment interest is also reflected in turnover. The first fortnight of March ended with average daily transactions of 252 million euros proportional to those observed in the 2009 months while the year runs in average daily transactions of 170.5 million euros increased by 22.9% compared to last year according to Beta stock market.
The increase in turnover shows, according to market players, that foreign portfolios were discounting the upgrading of the Greek economy by Moodys, which in turn paves the way for the upgrading of the stock market in developed markets.
The upgrading of the Athens Stock Exchange
Upgrading from Moody΄s, it can also lead the FTSE to open the Athens Stock Exchange’s path to developed markets, according to Jefferies.
On April 8, we will have the FTSE intermediate information on Greece’s possible movement to developed markets from emerging markets.
The FTSE is considering the lowest level of the 3 organizations and requires the country to have an “investment grade” evaluation with prospects that are not “negative”. Thus, upgrading to an investment level from Moody’s would solve this possible obstacle to the FTSE and moving to developed markets.
The ATHEX is already on a Watchlist FTSE Russell and S&P DJI upgrades for an impending transfer to the category of developed markets. MSCI, the largest provider, has not yet made a similar announcement. But upgrading Moody’s can also unlock the gradual integration of the domestic market into a “watchlist” for upgrading from MSCI.
Dividends of over 5 billion euros
A 16 -year record is expected to be recorded this year in the dividend policy of listed companies, with the average dividend yield standing at 5%.
Stock Exchange listed companies will share this year … gifts that will range at € 5 billion, dividends, which are the highest since 2007, before the big financial crisis begins when they were € 5.42 billion. But then there were many more listed companies on the Stock Exchange than the current period.
Banks’ high performance
Bank shares drive market upward traffic, with the bank index over -running the General Index, scoring 29.81% from the beginning of the year, compared to 15.86% of the basic stock market (based on Thursday).
Since the beginning of this year, Alpha Bank’s (+42.24%) stock (+36.36%), Ethniki (+29.90%) and Eurobank (+18.83%) have been the highest.
Banks are also based on strong profitability and improved credit profile presented by Greek banks in 2024.
The capitalization of Greek banks was significantly reinforced in 2024, and since the beginning of 2025 it has been reinforced by $ 7 billion, reflecting on continuous profits, stronger balance sheets and capital management actions, significant loan increase and acquisition initiatives.
Banks’ high profitability paves the way for the expansion of distributions with higher dividends and the implementation of more aggressive repurchase programs.
The net profits of the four systemic banks in 2024 amounted to EUR 4,532 billion compared to EUR 3,645 billion in 2023, up 24.33%.
Source: RES-EIA