Bloomberg: ΑΤΗΕΧ and bonds rally from the result of the Greek election

“Greek stocks and government bonds rally at the open as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis secured surprisingly strong support in Sunday’s election, fueling optimism for market-friendly reforms.” With these words, Bloomberg comments on the market’s reaction to the election results.

The publication highlights that the centre-right New Democracy of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received almost 41% of the vote against around 20% of the left-wing SYRIZA party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “While he failed to secure a majority in parliament, analysts are confident he will secure a one-party government in about a month, when new elections are expected to be held.”

The Athens Stock Exchange‘s General Index rose as much as 6.7% early Monday, extending 2023 gains to 29%.

The investment grade

Bloomberg writes that the election was seen by analysts and investors as the last obstacle standing in the nation’s path to regaining the investment grade it lost 13 years ago, and a Mitsotakis victory was seen as the most market-friendly outcome. In 2022, Greece’s debt to GDP ratio fell faster than any other European country.

“The vote result puts Greece firmly on track to secure investment grade, possibly before the end of the year,” commented Wolfango Piccoli, co-chairman of Teneo Intelligence in London. “While such an upgrade is largely discounted by investors, it will be an important moment as a stigma that has existed since late 2010 will disappear.”

The yield on Greece’s 10-year government bond fell about 9 basis points to 3.933%. The rate fell more than 100 basis points from last year’s high, narrowing the spread significantly to 1.45.