With a fall of 0.86%, the stock market closed the week ending.

The General Price Index found … a wall at the levels of 1,505 units, the highest in 13 years and on the occasion of the retreat of international markets, investors proceeded to take profits.

Concerns about the path of US interest rates are returning to international markets after the minutes of the latest Fed meeting and strong US economic data reinforced the narrative of “higher interest rates for longer”.

At the same time, banks moved on a path of strong profitability in the first quarter of 2024, with analysts estimating that they will exceed the targets they have set for the entire year.

The total profits of the four systemic banks amounted, in the first quarter of 2024, to 1.09 billion euros, compared to 788 million euros in the corresponding quarter of 2023, an increase of 38.4%.

Eurobank Equities maintains buy recommendations for all banks with target prices of 2.41 euros for Alpha Bank, 10.37 euros for National Bank and 5.40 euros for Piraeus Bank, which remains its top performer choice due to its attractive risk-return profile and solid program execution. Greek banking stocks have recently covered the upward movement of their EU peers, but still remain at a discount of more than 20%.

The combination of attractive valuations and upcoming catalysts, with the reinstatement of the dividend and the further upgrade of earnings, we believe that Greek banks make a compelling case”, underlines Eurobank Equities.

Greek banks showed strong results in the first quarter, due to higher core income, effective cost containment and lower provisions, Optima Bank points out in its analysis. In addition, return on equity increased further, liquidity is abundant, and asset quality and momentum remained positive. Following the strong set of results, Optima believes the banks will not only meet but exceed this year’s targets and therefore reiterates a buy recommendation on the sector.

The stock exchange gives a target price of 2.1 euros for Alpha Bank, 2.41 euros for Eurobank, 9.2 euros for Ethniki and 5 euros for Piraeus.

According to NBG Securities, Greek bank valuations are at 6.2 times, on average, in P/E terms this year and 0.85 times in P/TBV terms. Alpha Bank’s valuation is at 5.8 times in P/E terms and 0.60 times in P/TBV terms. For Piraeus, the corresponding indices are 5.4 times and 0.69 times. Eurobank shares are trading at a P/TBV ratio of 0.93 times and a P/E ratio of 6.4 times. The share of Ethniki is traded at 7 times this year in P/E terms and 1 time in P/TBV terms.

The General Price Index closed the week at 1,477.69 points, against 1,490.46 points the previous week, marking a weekly drop of 0.86%. Since the beginning of May it has risen 2.02% and since the beginning of 2024 the main stock market index has recorded gains of 14.27%.

The FTSE/ASE 25 large-cap index closed the week down 1.12% and since the start of 2024 is up 14.68%. The FTSE MID mid-cap index closed down 1.39% for the week, compared to a year-to-date gain of 5.16%.

The banking index closed the week with losses of 1.43%, while since the beginning of 2024 it has recorded gains of 22.87%.

The total value of transactions in this week’s sessions was €896.704 million, while the average daily value of transactions was €179.341 million, compared to €124.320 million last week.

The total market capitalization this week decreased by 950 million euros and stood at 101.876 billion euros, while since the beginning of the year it has increased by 13.988 billion euros.