Athens Stock Exchange Posts Best Performance in 25-years, Boosted by Euronext’s Bid

The Athens Stock Exchange is enjoying its strongest August in a quarter of a century, with trading volumes and investor interest surging after Euronext announced a bid to acquire the bourse’s operator, Hellenic Exchanges (ATHEX).

The offer, valued at over €410 million, is widely seen as a vote of confidence in Greece’s capital market. Investors expect the deal to integrate Athens more deeply into Euronext’s pan-European network, potentially boosting liquidity, international visibility and overall market appeal.

Market momentum was already positive before the announcement, but the bid accelerated gains. The General Index climbed from 1,885 points on July 1 to 2,039 points by August 1, while daily trading volumes jumped from 48.3 million to 63.4 million shares. On August 6 and 7, turnover hit €88.6 million and €83.1 million respectively — more than double June’s daily average of €33 million.

Euronext’s revised proposal of €7.14 per ATHEX share represents a 19% premium over the closing price on June 30 and a 27% premium on the three-month average price before the announcement.

The rally comes on the back of an already impressive year for Athens. In the first seven months of 2025, the General Index gained 35.7%, ranking second globally among 75 major stock market indices. The bourse has now logged five consecutive years of growth, with cumulative gains of 146.6% and an average annual increase of nearly 20% — far outpacing benchmarks like the MSCI ACWI and STOXX Europe 600.

Trading activity has also been robust, with average daily turnover reaching €259.7 million in March and holding at €224.8 million in July. Foreign investors remain a dominant force, consistently holding around two-thirds of the market’s capitalization, underscoring sustained international confidence in Greece’s stock market prospects.