Euro haven.

European markets, analysts said. Turnover, however, was 9.21 percent lower yesterday, reaching 33.91 million euros. After suffering in recent weeks, bank shares all skyrocketed yesterday. Banks Piraeus and Alpha were up 29.17 percent, followed by Eurobank on 26.47 percent and National on 25.42 percent. The FTSE/Large Cap Index constituents posted gains of up to 29 percent.

The notion that the euro could be a haven in times of turmoil seemed preposterous just a few weeks ago. Yet that’s exactly what it’s become as the world gets rocked by everything from devaluations to bear markets in stocks. The euro has surged almost 4 percent against a basket of developed-nations peers in the past month, the biggest gain in the group. It’s up against more of the world’s major currencies than the dollar, yen, Swiss franc or pound. And it’s climb- ing even as the European Central Bank expands the supply of euros. While the rally signals confidence in the 19-nation currency union following the Greek crisis, it also complicates the ECB’s efforts to jump-start the economy. That’s because a stronger exchange rate has the potential to curb exports and slow inflation. “Safehaven flows have been mainly targeted at the euro, which I think is stunning,” said Thu Lan Nguyen, a strategist in Frankfurt at Commerzbank AG. “The ECB won’t just stand aside and may start to try to verbally weaken the currency. That’s their prime instrument for delivering inflation.” China’s shock devaluation this month sparked a rout in emerging markets that has prompted investors to unwind carry trades funded in euros. These deals involved borrowing at the ECB’s near-zero interest rates to fund higher-yielding purchases, and canceling them means buying euros back.