Stock prices faced strong downward pressure on Tuesday, May 15, 2026, at the Athens Stock Exchange, with banking stocks at the center of the sell-off. The broader negative sentiment echoed across global markets, driven by rising oil prices and a fresh wave of bond market selloffs worldwide.
Greek Market Performance
The Athens General Index closed at 2,246.82 points, down 2.26%. Intraday, it hit a low of 2,246.47 points — a 2.28% decline. On a weekly basis, the benchmark index fell 1.46%, though it remains up 5.95% year-to-date. Total trading value reached €240.84 million, with 30.69 million shares changing hands.
The Large Cap Index dropped 2.39%, while the Mid Cap Index declined 0.51%. The Banking Index plunged 3.52%.
Among large-cap stocks, Elvalhalcor (+2.19%), OTE (+1.95%), and Optima Bank (+1.60%) posted the strongest gains. In contrast, Eurobank (-4.79%), Piraeus Bank (-4.09%), Alpha Bank (-3.88%), National Bank (-3.63%), Titan Cement (-2.93%), and EYDAP (-2.85%) recorded the steepest losses.
European Markets Retreat Sharply
European equities tumbled sharply amid renewed investor concerns over inflation — triggered by stronger-than-expected U.S. price data last week and climbing oil prices. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell more than 1%, heading toward a closing loss of 1.54%.
Major exchanges in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Milan all posted declines, with most sector indices also in the red.
Wall Street Opens Lower
U.S. stocks opened lower, weighed down by tech-sector losses and rising yields on U.S. Treasury bonds. Investor unease followed the conclusion of the Trump–Xi summit, which yielded no major policy breakthroughs.
The S&P 500 was down 0.99%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.84%.
Technology stocks reversed recent gains: Intel dropped 6%, Advanced Micro Devices fell 3%, Micron Technology lost 5%, and Nvidia declined 3%. Cerebras Systems — which surged 68% on Thursday after beginning Nasdaq trading — gave back 5% today.