GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 629.10 posting losses of 1.83%, in a turnover of €15.70mn.

The IMF spokesman Mr. Gerry Rice said that the IMF will continue to support Greece in its efforts to overcome the economic crisis. Troika will determine whether enough progress has been made on Greece’s economic reforms to unblock the next aid installment of €31.5bn.

The Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras said that the government is close to finalizing the two-year €11.5bn euro package of spending cuts and added that package contains painful, necessary spending cuts and will be the last of its kind because Greek society can no longer take such austerity measures.

The Finance Minister Mr. Yannis Stournaras will meet with the German counterpart Mr. Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Tuesday. On Friday, September 7, the heads of the troika and the European Council’s Herman Van Rompuy are visiting Athens, with the latter having arranged to meet with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. Mr. Stournaras will meet with the troika representatives on Sunday, September 9.

Economic releases

• 08/31 Retail Sales y-o-y June

Corporate Impacts

• PPC: It reported a H1’12 net profit of €18.3mn (est: €12.6mn), down 85.8% from a year earlier because of higher energy costs and a new lignite levy. The EBITDA fell to €483.4mn vs. €603.8mn, while turnover increased by 8.4% to €2.9bn. The net debt rose to €4.7bn vs. €4.3bn in H1’11. The company expects full-year EBITDA margin to be 16% -16.5%, as long as Greece’s macroeconomic environment does not deteriorate further.
• BoC: It posted post-tax losses of €134mn in the first six months compared to €107mn in H1’11 because of provisions for bad loans and a Greek debt write-off. The provisions for impairment of loans reached €568mn (+210%), while profit before provisions was €360mn (-6%). The capital deficit as defined by the EBA is estimated at €730mn.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 222-218-210. Resistance levels: 232-240-246.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 640.84 posting profits of 1.49%, in a turnover of €16.88mn.

The yesterday meeting of the political leaders did not appear to yield a final agreement. The Finance Minister Mr. Yannis Stournaras said that the basic scenario for the measures had been finalized but that further discussion was required on the details of the package of measures. The package is to be presented to troika for approval in next week.

The Dutch Finance Minister Mr. Jan Kees de Jager and his German counterpart, Mr. Wolfgang Schaeuble declined to comment on providing more aid to Greece, saying that they needed to wait until a report on the country’s fiscal situation due to be published as late as October.

Economic releases

Corporate releases

• 08/30 PPC (before-market), BoC, Folli – Follie (after-market) H1’12 results

Corporate Impacts

• Banks: a) Piraeus Bank is in talks with France΄s Societe Generale to acquire the French lender΄s Greek unit b) The lending to Greek businesses and households shrank 4.8% in July, compared with the same month last year, as demand for bank loans continued to slide (BoG).
• Hellenic Petroleum: The net profit for the second quarter stood at €86mn (-7.5%) from the previous year (est: €62mn), as cost cuts and robust refining margins outweighed a slump in fuel demand (-12%). The EBITDA rose by 37% to €197mn (est: €146.9mn), while the company expects its performance to improve in the coming quarters after completion of upgrade works at its Elefsina refinery. It also said that it was close to agreeing refinancing for more than €1bn of loans due to be repaid in the last quarter of 2012 and first quarter of 2013.
• Hellenic Postbank: The Finance Minister Mr. Yannis Stournaras said that the bank is no longer viable, paving the way for its sale or transfer to private investors.
• Titan Cement It posted a 65.3% drop in first-half net profit to €8.3mn from €24.1mn a year earlier, amid an ongoing slump in its core Greek market and weakness in many of the other countries where it operates. EBITDA fell to €77.7mn in the second quarter from €94mn, while the turnover rose 6.1% to €322.5 million.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 226-220-214. Resistance levels: 236-242-250.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 631.41 posting losses of 2.27%, in a turnover of €22.14mn.

The Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras after his meeting with the Greek President Mr. Karolos Papoulias said that the government is fighting to avert the risk of Greece being pushed out of the eurozone and to put the economy on the road to recovery. Mr. Samaras will meet today the PASOK leader Mr. Evangelos Venizelos and the Democratic Left chief Mr. Fotis Kouvelis. They will discuss some of the €11.5bn in austerity measures being demanded by troika. The package of measures is to be finalized by mid-September.

The government said that Greece plans to set up “special economic zones” to attract private investment. The zones would offer investors tax and administrative advantages.

The Austria’s finance minister Ms. Maria Fekter said that Greece must have a clear plan to implement reforms before the possibility of giving the country more time to do so can be discussed.

Economic releases

• 08/29 PPI y-o-y July
• 08/31 Retail Sales y-o-y June

Corporate releases

• 08/29 Hellenic Petroleum H1’12 results (after-market)
• 08/30 BoC (after-market), PPC (before-market) H1’12 results

Corporate Impacts

Banks: a) The private-sector deposits rose about 2% to €159.4bn at the end of July from €156.2bn a month earlier b) Credit Agricole said that a deal to sell its Greek arm Emporiki Bank could be wrapped up within weeks.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 222-218-212. Resistance levels: 232-240-246.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 646.08 posting profits of 0.32%, in a turnover of €30.62mn.

The Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mr. Mark Rutte said that he would block a third aid package for Greece and defended austerity as the only way out of Europe’s debt crisis.

Corporate Impacts

• MOH: It reported a 74% drop for H1’12 net income at €27.6mn (est: €28.6mn) weighed down by falling crude prices and shrinking fuel demand. EBITDA dropped by 10% to €165.2mn, while the company reported a foreign exchange loss of €12.3mn in the second quarter.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 228-222-216. Resistance levels: 240-246-250.

GREEK FINANCIAL MARKET

The General Index in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 644.04 posting profits of 2.28%, in a turnover of €20.98mn.

The German Chancellor Ms. Angela Merkel said that Germany and France want Greece to stay in the euro zone and the country’s government will do everything to solve its problems. She added that Germany will wait for the troika report. The Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras said that Greece intends to fulfil its obligations and is on the way to doing so. Greece is working to bring down its credibility deficit and asks for the country to be given a chance to breath.

According to Financial Times Deutschland newspaper, a working group led by Germany’s deputy finance minister is studying the possible economic impact of a Greek exit from the euro zone. At the same time, reports in the UK have referred to British government sources saying that the White House is pressuring the euro zone not to take any steps that could lead to Greece leaving the euro zone before the Presidential election in the US.

Economic releases

• 08/29 PPI y-o-y July
• 08/31 Retail Sales y-o-y June

Corporate releases

• 08/21 08/27 Motor Oil H1’12 results (after-market). Est. profits: €71mn, est. EBITDA: €175.6mn

Corporate Impacts

• Cypriot Banks: The Central Bank said that it had appointed professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal to investigate why the two largest banks had to seek state support.

Technical

FTSE 20 September future:

Support levels: 228-222-216. Resistance levels: 240-248-254.