FTSE/Athex Large Cap

The Greek bourse saw sellers focus on its non-bank stocks on Thursday, leading to notable losses for its benchmark.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 566.58 points, shedding 1.47 percent from Wednesday's 575.06 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 1.68 percent to end at 1,524.17 points, though small-caps rose 1.26 percent.

Having spent all day in the red, the benchmark of the Greek bourse received a late boost during the closing auctions on Tuesday, particularly from the stocks of OTE and OPAP, to finish the session marginally in the green, albeit with very thin trading volume.

The Greek bourse benchmark finally cleared the 650-point level on Tuesday to record a new seven-month high, as the certainty of Greece finally meeting all the bailout review requirements pushed stock prices higher at the end of the session.

A Morgan Stanley report that was published on Wednesday and forecast a swift end to the country's negotiations with its creditors gave a significant push to the local stock market upon its reopening after the Easter and May Day holidays. The report was particularly bullish on Greek bank stocks, whose index gained 3.01 percent on Wednesday.

An immediate impact was seen on the Greek stock market on Wednesday after the negotiations between Athens and its creditors hit a snag on Tuesday, inflicting significant losses, mainly on bank stocks, as well as the benchmark.

The Athens stock market had a day of high volatility on Tuesday on various rumors about the outcome of the all-important talks between the government and the country's creditors, with the benchmark eventually managing to inch up just shy of 600 points, having seen prices drop considerably earlier in the day.

The slightly increased chances of an agreement between Athens and Greece's lenders, thanks to Eurostat figures and politicians' statements, was reflected in Tuesday's session at the local bourse, with moderate gains for the majority of stocks.

Coca-Cola HBC and OTE, two of the largest companies operating in Greece, partner following a global tender. With an investment of €43m Coca-Cola HBC assigns OTE to provide and run its data center (DC) in Greece, servicing business transactions for more than 36,000 employees in the 28 countries where Coca-Cola HBC is present.

The President of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, Konstantinos Botopoulos told Reuters that the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) will open on Wednesday or Thursday after being shut down since June 29, when bank holidays and capital controls were imposed on Greek banks.

The Greek bourse reacted with disappointment on Thursday after investors? hopes for a deal between Athens and its creditors, which spurred a mini-rally on Wednesday, once again failed to materialize, with some of the traders reaping capital gains.