In stunning reversal for Europe, Greek finance minister elected as Eurogroup president

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis was elected Thursday as president of the Eurogroup — a move that would have been unthinkable just 10 years ago when the country was in the throes of a deep financial crisis that almost saw it tossed out of the eurozone altogether.

The Eurogroup is the informal body of finance ministers from the 20 European Union members that use the euro as their shared currency. It gathers regularly to discuss and coordinate economic policies in the euro area countries, and as such, wields significant power in the shaping of each country’s financial policy. The words of the Eurogroup president are closely followed.

“Today is a day of pride for the country, for the government and for all the citizens,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement congratulating Pierrakakis. His election, Mitsotakis said, was “the most emphatic recognition of our country’s positive course ... exactly a decade since the country found itself on a cliff-edge, with closed banks and close to leaving the euro.”

Greece, “the former ‘black sheep’ of debt, now rises to the top of the financial council of the continent’s most developed countries. And all this is thanks to the sacrifices of our compatriots,” Mitsotakis said.

Pierrakakis, 42, is seen as a rising star in Greece’s governing center-right New Democracy party. He took the post of finance minister in March after serving for about two years as education minister. Pierrakakis was credited with introducing sweeping reforms to slash bureaucracy and get many Greek public services online during his 2019-2023 tenure as minister of digital governance.

“It was I think 10 years ago that the debate here in Brussels was about whether or not Greece would be exiting the eurozone. And yet, Greece withstood,” Pierrakakis said during a news conference in Brussels after his election was announced. “And this is a testament I would say of many things. A testament of the collective strength of the people. It is a testament of European solidarity, of receiving help at the most dire of times.”

Pierrakakis said he will “work to keep the Eurogroup a body of unity and shared purpose, focusing on our common currency, our common economic interests and the European project, grounded in the core values of the union.”

During Greece’s financial crisis, which began in late 2009, a successive stream of Eurogroup presidents would visit Athens for meetings with the Greek foreign minister at the time, each utterance carefully scrutinized for any indication as to the country’s fate.

In one infamous encounter in January 2015, shortly after the election of a new left-wing government in Greece, the Eurogroup president at the time, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, clashed with his flamboyant Greek counterpart, Yanis Varoufakis.

After a tense press conference during which Varoufakis had said the new government had no intention of negotiating with the country’s bailout lenders, Dijsselbloem whispered something to Varoufakis as the two men shook hands, with Varoufakis’ face visibly dropping. Speculation swirled as to exactly what Dijsselbloem had said, but the exchange highlighted Greece’s fraught relations with its creditors and the Eurogroup.

Years of fiscal profligacy saw Greece locked out of raising funds on the international bond market by sky-high interest rates, leaving it relying on billions of euros (dollars) from three international bailouts, overseen by what became known as the troika: the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

The bailouts came with strings attached. Deep austerity reforms were mandated, and Greeks felt the pain. The country’s economy contracted by a quarter, sending it into a depression. Unemployment skyrocketed to 28% of the workforce in 2013, with youth unemployment reaching nearly 60%. Wages and pensions were slashed, homelessness grew and violent mass protests became the norm on the streets of Athens.

In June 2015, Greece teetered on the brink of being kicked out of the eurozone altogether. In an attempt to prevent a run on the banks, the government imposed capital controls, introducing strict limits on people’s access to their bank accounts, rationing ATM withdrawals and limiting money flows.

Days later, Greece became the first developed nation to default on its debts to the International Monetary Fund. Banking restrictions would only fully be lifted in 2019.

Fast forward a decade, and Europe’s financial outcast has turned into one of its best budget performers. All major ratings agencies have restored its bonds to investment grade, and Greece was just one of six EU member states in 2024 to have recorded a budget surplus. This year, government revenues have shot past targets through August. The economy has done well enough for the prime minister to announce a 1.6 billion euro (1.88 billion dollar) tax cuts package in September.

But it’s not all smooth sailing. The country still faces financial challenges, with many Greeks struggling under an increasing cost of living. Protesting farmers are currently blocking highways across the country, angered by high production costs and low wholesale prices for their goods, as well as delays in the payment of EU-backed subsidies following a corruption scandal.

Pierrakakis won the Eurogroup's presidency over Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem. His 2 1/2 year term begins on Friday, and the first Eurogroup meeting under his presidency has been scheduled for Jan. 19.

Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.

Belgium's Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, left, speaks with Greece's Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis during a meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Belgium's Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, center left, speaks with Greece's Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, center right, during a meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Belgium's Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, left, speaks with Greece's Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis during a meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Belgium's Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, left, speaks with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, center, and French Finance Minister Roland Lescure during a meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, left, speaks with Greece's Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis during a meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks are rising on Thursday, but a sell-off for Oracle is weighing on Wall Street as investors question whether its big spending on artificial-intelligence technology will pay off.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and was hovering around its all-time high, which was set in October. Drops for AI-related stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite down 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was on track for a record with a gain of 619 points, or 1.3%, as of 2:15 p.m. Eastern time.

Oracle tumbled 10.8% and had briefly been on track for its worst day since 2001, when the dot-com bubble was still deflating. It reported 14% growth in revenue for the latest quarter, which came up just short of analysts' expectations, even though its profit topped forecasts.

Doubts remain about whether all the spending that Oracle is doing on AI technology will produce the payoff of increased profits and productivity that proponents are promising. Analysts said they were surprised by how much Oracle may spend on AI investments this fiscal year, and questions continue about how the company will pay for it.

Such doubts are weighing on the AI industry broadly, even as many billions of dollars continue to flow in. Those questions had helped drag the broad U.S. stock market through some sharp and scary swings last month.

Nvidia, the chip company that’s become the poster child of the AI boom and is raking in close to $20 billion each month, fell 1.9% Thursday. It was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said it will continue to buy chips from Nvidia, but it’s now taking a policy of “chip neutrality,” where it will use “whatever chips our customers want to buy. There are going to be a lot of changes in AI technology over the next few years and we must remain agile in response to those changes.”

Even with the struggles for AI-related companies, most of the U.S. market rose Thursday, including three out of every four stocks in the S&P 500.

Eli Lilly helped lead the way and climbed 1.8% after announcing encouraging results from a clinical trial for adult patients who are obese or overweight and have knee osteoarthritis, without diabetes.

The Walt Disney Co. added 1.7% after OpenAI said the entertainment giant is investing $1 billion in it. It's part of a three-year agreement that will also allow OpenAI to use more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters to generate short, user-prompted social videos.

Planet Labs PBC soared 38.7% after the provider of satellite images used by governments and businesses reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

On the losing end of Wall Street, Oxford Industries tumbled 20.9% after the company behind Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer pointed to how its customers have been seeking out deals and are “highly value-driven.” CEO Tom Chubb said the start of the holiday shopping season has been weaker than the company expected, and it cut its forecast for revenue for the full year.

Vera Bradley, meanwhile, dropped 17% after reporting a larger loss for the latest quarter than expected.

In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed after a report said the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week by more than economists expected. That’s a potential indication of rising layoffs and could encourage the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates to bolster the job market.

A day earlier, yields fell after the Fed cut its main interest rate for the third time this year and indicated another cut may be ahead in 2026. Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they can boost the economy and send prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.14% from 4.13% on Wednesday and from 4.18% on Tuesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes ticked higher in Europe after falling in much of Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 0.9%, hurt by a sharp drop for SoftBank Group Corp., which is a major investor in AI.

AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

Specialists Alex Weitzman, left, and Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Gregg Maloney works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Michael Gallucci works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Financial information is displayed while traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A television on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, display a news conference with Fed chairman Jerome Powell, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)