At some point during the trading session, the General Index fell below 2,600 points. It eventually closed at 2,603.34 points, down 0.39%.
And pay attention to something very important. It wasn't any Greek news that put pressure on the market. It was France.
At the same time, however, September's data shows that foreign investors poured into the Greek market with tremendous momentum. And two credit rating reviews are coming up in the next few weeks that could change a lot.
FRANCE AND THE DECLINE
So, what happened? European markets moved lower due to developments in France. The Athens Stock Exchange followed suit, with banks coming under the greatest pressure.
"But if analysts say the French crisis won't spread to the rest of Europe, why are we falling?" you might be wondering.
Because some foreign investment portfolios aren't so sure. They're worried that the eurozone is entering a new period of turmoil. And this is also reflected in government bonds.
But France isn't the only factor. October has a history of being a difficult month for markets. And this year, we're seeing government bond sell-offs around the world, more expensive energy, and geopolitical turmoil.
Let's also point something out. The Greek stock market is in the top ranks globally for returns for the fifth consecutive year. So quite a few investors are simply taking profits.
Recently, we also saw a two-day sell-off, during which the General Index lost 4.40%. However, this may be connected to portfolio rebalancing following the market's reclassification.
So, with these corrections, the deck gets reshuffled, and new investors get an opportunity to enter at lower prices.
FOREIGN CAPITAL
Now let's move on to the second part. Because despite the declines, the previous month was a historic one for the Greek stock market.
On September 21, the Greek market officially moved from emerging to developed market status in the indices of STOXX, FTSE Russell, and S&P Dow Jones.
"And what does that mean?" you might be wondering.
In very simple terms, Greek stocks came onto the radar of many more foreign investors who invest in developed and European markets.
And the result?
Foreign investors made net purchases worth €472.22 million in a single month. On September 18, when portfolio adjustments took place, trading turnover exceeded €4 billion.
Yes. AN ALL-TIME RECORD.
Total trading turnover for September exceeded €12 billion. And nearly €8 out of every €10 in trading came from foreign investors. What's more, 99.5% of net purchases went into large-cap listed companies.
And what about Greek investors? They were on the selling side, with outflows of a similar magnitude. Individual investors alone recorded outflows of €233.3 million.
As a result, by the end of September, foreign investors held 70.06% of the total value of portfolios.
Nevertheless, interest in the Athens Stock Exchange is growing. In September, 3,352 new investor accounts were opened, compared with 2,251 in August. That's an increase of almost 49%.
And the average daily trading value over the first nine months of the year reached €357 million, up from €219 million in 2025.
Of course, there's one big "but." The more foreign capital a market attracts, the more vulnerable it becomes to sharp corrections when sentiment abroad changes.
And according to market executives, some of the recent selling may have come from portfolios that bought more than they intended to during the rebalancing process.
THE CREDIT RATING REVIEWS
And this brings us to the next major event.
On Friday, Standard & Poor's will publish its second review of the Greek economy this year. Fitch follows on November 6. Both agencies currently rate Greece BBB, with a stable outlook.
You might ask: with so much turmoil in European bond markets, won't Greece be affected?
Probably not to any significant extent. The rating agencies understand that the rise in bond yields across Europe is temporary and linked to the energy crisis.
And Greece's numbers are looking very good.
Last year, public debt fell by 9.5 percentage points of GDP. This year, we expect a high primary budget surplus for the fourth consecutive year. And the country will make another €12 billion in early repayments on loans from the bailout programs.
Fitch, in particular, expects Greece's debt to fall from 146.1% of GDP in 2025 to around 120% by 2030.
Of course, not everything is rosy. Greek public debt remains approximately two and a half times higher than that of a typical country rated BBB.
And what will matter most to S&P is whether the same economic policy continues after the spring elections.
The finance ministry, however, estimates that by the end of the year, all the major rating agencies will have upgraded Greece's outlook from stable to positive. The exception is Scope, which has already upgraded the country.
And if the outlooks do indeed turn positive?
Personally, I believe this would attract even more foreign capital to the Greek stock market.
And looking further ahead, there's also MSCI, which is set to reclassify Greece in May 2027.