GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index closed at 742.44 posting losses of 1.68%, after the meeting of the government coalition partners, in a turnover of €39.55mn.

Τhe coalition leaders agreed on most of the cost-cutting measures demanded by the troika, but there are still some outstanding issues. They are going to seek for a two-year extension of the fiscal adjustment program. The Finance Minister Mr. Yannis Stournaras described the agreement as a basis for strong negotiation with the troika and he added that the proposed measures will first have to be approved by the troika envoys, expected in Athens during the weekend, before they are voted upon in Parliament.

The French Foreign Minister Mr. Laurent Fabius said that Greece requires a mix of deficit cuts and help from other euro zone members to remain a member of the single currency.

Economic Releases

• 28/09 PPI y-o-y-August, Retail sales-July.

Corporate Impacts

• Banks: a) According to Kathimerini, the incentives for private investors to take part in recapitalization of banks to be announced after government agree on budget. The investors may have the option to buy 9 shares from government stake for every 1 they hold b) The chief executive officer of Credit Agricole Mr. Jean Paul Chifflet said that the sale of the Greek unit Emporiki Bank will be completed in a few weeks and he added that they are in very advanced negotiations with buyers who have made firm offers. According to sources, Credit Agricole is expected to release an announcement about Emporiki Bank today. Greek authorities have given the French group until Sunday to confirm the winning bidder. There is no doubt that the winner of the tender will boost its capital base considerably.
• MIG: Vivartia signed a major business deal with Abu Dhabi firm Exeed Industries for the expansion of the Greek enterprise to the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf through the creation of a consortium aimed at productive and commercial activity. The aim of the consortium will be to evolve into the leader in the region, which has a dynamic market of more than 330mn consumers and sales of more than €165mn per year.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 266-260-254. Resistance levels: 278-286-292.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 755.09 posting profits of 0.38%, in a turnover of €44.68mn.

The Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras is due to meet the other two coalition partners, PASOK’s Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left’s Fotis Kouvelis today to discuss the package of €11.5bn reductions, as well as €2bn worth of new tax measures.

The EU economics chief Mr. Olli Rehn said that a fresh restructuring of Greece’s debt is not on the cards and he added that it is difficult to judge what the next steps in Greece will be ,as the country is still undergoing a review of its bailout program by the troika.

The Governing Council member Mr. Jens Weidmann said that the ECB will not fill potential financing gaps in Greece’s budget.

Economic Releases

• 28/09 PPI y-o-y-August, Retail sales-July.

Corporate Impacts

• OPAP: The chief executive of the TAIPED Mr. Yiannis Emiris said that the process for the sale of a 33% stake will formally start this week, with an invitation for expressions of interest in the controlling stake. The interested parties will have to submit offers by November.
• Sidenor: An Italian government source said that the intergovernmental agreement for the building of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) gas project that will link Italy, Greece and Albania will be signed on Friday.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 268-262-256. Resistance levels: 282-290-296.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 752.20 posting losses of 0.30%, in a turnover of €48.09mn.

The Finance Minister Mr. Yannis Stournaras said that Greece would need an additional €13-15bn to finance a two-year extension to meet its budget targets but is confident of bridging that gap without burdening European taxpayers.

The deputy finance minister Mr. Christos Staikouras said that Greece may seek a rollover of its ECB-held bonds or try to raise additional short-term debt to plug a possible financing gap in the coming years. He also said that Greece might have to raise more money from debt markets in 2015 and 2016 that the €10.6bn foreseen in its bailout agreement earlier in this year.

Corporate Impacts

• METKA:It announced that it received the Letter of Award for an expansion of an existing power station in Jordan. The total contract value is US$ 143.14mn and the project will be carried out within 28 months.
• Banks: According to press reports, Credit Agricole’s governing board will have convened to ratify the decision and announce the transaction by the end of the week. Bank officials are optimistic that the decision will be made public by Sunday, although a postponement until next week cannot be ruled out yet.

Technical

FTSE 20 December future:

Support levels: 268-262-256. Resistance levels: 282-290-296.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 754.48 posting losses of 2.75%, in a turnover of €47.82mn.

The IMF’s managing director Ms. Christine Lagarde said that the IMF is “prepared to be flexible” and said both growth and austerity are needed to put an end to a crisis which will next month again force the IMF to cut its global growth forecasts. The IMF dropped the broadest of hints that it would give Greece more time to implement its hard-line cuts program.

The German Finance Ministry Spokesman Martin Kotthaus declined to comment on reports of a widening gap in the funding need for Greece that could require additional financing. The German government has no reliable data to make any assessment and needs to wait for the troika report.

Corporate Impacts

• Folli Follie:It said that it is close to selling the controlling stake in its local duty free operations to Dufry, a Switzerland-based global travel retailer.
• ELPE, MOH: According to a draft IMF report seen by the Wall Street Journal, the lack of competition in Greece’s fuel market is costing consumers hundreds of millions of euros.

Technical

FTSE 20 December future:

Support levels: 268-262-256. Resistance levels: 282-290-296.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 775.78 posting profits of 1.58%, in a turnover of €80.53mn.

The European Commission spokesman Mr. Simon O’Connor said that the mission of the troika will be suspended this weekend for about a week. The pause in talks is not a sign of trouble and he added that he did not know when the report of troika would eventually be produced.

EU officials and diplomats said that the EU-IMF report into whether Greece΄s debt is manageable looks set to be delayed until after November 6 because policymakers want to avoid any shock to the global economy (Reuters).

The Finance Ministry said that the budget shortfall will be covered by the €11.5bn in cuts and €2bn in new tax measures that it is negotiating with the troika, rufusing the report of Der Spiegel that claimed the country’s budget shortfall is about €20bn.

The French Prime Minister Mr. Jean-Marc Ayrault said that Greece should be allowed more time to meet deficit targets set by international lenders provided it is sincere about reforming its economy.

The Italian Prime Minister Mr. Mario Monti after his meeting with the Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras said that it is absolute necessity to safeguard the integrity of the euro area and encouraged the Greek government to continue in the same direction, consolidating public finances and enacting all the necessary reforms.

The German government declined to comment on reports that holders of Greek bonds could again be forced to accept losses on their holdings in order to help bridge a financing gap.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 278-270-266. Resistance levels: 290-298-306.