Greek stock market joins world’s leading exchanges after debt crisis

Greece's capital market has been upgraded from "advanced emerging" to "developed" status by FTSE Russell, marking a significant milestone in the nation's recovery from its debt crisis. This change, effective on Monday, moved 62 Greek stocks out of FTSE's emerging-market benchmarks and into its developed-market indices, making Greek equities more attractive to international investors.

The Athens Exchange Group's CEO hailed the upgrade as a "landmark achievement," potentially opening up new financing opportunities for listed companies and broadening the pool of international investors. Simultaneously, index provider STOXX also reclassified Greece as a developed market, allowing nine Greek companies to join the pan-European STOXX Europe 600.

This shift prompted index-tracking funds to adjust their portfolios, with funds focusing on developed-market indices purchasing Greek shares and those targeting emerging-market indices selling them. The heightened trading activity during the Friday closing auction set a record €4.26 billion in share trades, surpassing the previous record of €3.03 billion.

Greek sovereign debt ratings have also improved, with Moody's changing the outlook on Greece's Baa3 rating from stable to positive and Scope Ratings raising its rating from BBB to BBB+, both indicating potential future upgrades. These developments suggest growing investor confidence in Greece, fueled by falling debt burden, budget surpluses, improved tax collection, and economic and institutional reforms.

Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierakakis emphasized the resilience and credibility of Greece, stressing the need for continued fiscal discipline, investment, and reforms to boost productivity and wages.