ATHEX: Record low turnover at start of year

The Greek bourse began the new year on Monday with the lowest daily trading volume in almost four-and-a-half years: It narrowly managed to clear the 10-million-euro level on a day that was a bank holiday for many countries while the vast majority of stores in Greece were also closed. Still, most stocks posted moderate gains, with buying interest focused on the shares of banks and industrial firms.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 646.61 points, adding 0.46 percent to Friday's 643.64 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.23 percent to close at 1,744.94 points.

The banks index advanced 1.01 percent, with mid-cap Attica Bank staging an impressive recovery of 27.59 percent. National grew 2.02 percent, Piraeus grabbed 1.44 percent and Eurobank improved 1.09 percent.

Viohalco was the best performing blue chip, increasing 4.80 percent, with...