The top performer is the stock exchange in Athens, with a 48% yield. The Greek stock exchange’s yield, too, was calculated based on the yield of the dividends paid by the major companies.
On the other hand, the Warsaw bourse, the largest in the region by capitalization, has seen decline since early 2019, while the Sofia stock exchange ranks last, with a 6.3% decline, according to the same source. Therefore, the trend of each stock market index in 2019 mostly reflects the internal factors of its respective economy, rather than the external ones.
“The Greek had a number of bad years and the economy of that country exited the collapse it was in a little while ago. At the moment, it is sufficiently stable to no longer experience problems, but the growth may not be very well grounded. Let’s not forget the Greek started from a very low base,” economic analyst Aurelian Dochia told ZF.
Whereas the trend of the Bucharest Stock Exchange may be because of the full recovery after Ordinance 114 introducing taxation changes and sending stock market indices plummeting in December 2018, the trend of the Greek stock market may be because the election results, which led to a government that promised jobs and economic reform through investment.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)