ADMIE Holdings

The rise of Coca-Cola HBC's stock by 1.95 percent on Friday contained the Greek benchmark's losses somewhat and kept the blue chip index above water at the end of a week of small gains for the local market.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 923.63 points, shedding 0.26 percent from Thursday's 926.06 points. On a weekly basis it improved 0.38 percent.

Most stocks recorded moderate gains or got a bit of a breather following last Friday's decline in the first trading session after the long weekend, but it appears clear that any disruption will be more likely to come from developments abroad than domestic ones this year.

The stocks of former state companies gave the main index of the Greek bourse a major push on Tuesday while the banks' index stayed put. The benchmark rebounded within range of the 900-point level, with daily turnover rising above 100 million euros.

Blue chips got off to a good start on Monday morning in Athens, but the bulk of those gains had evaporated by the end of trade and the majority of stocks ended up in negative territory.

Developments in the banking sector, mainly regarding nonperforming loans, gave bank stocks at Athinon Avenue a significant boost on Tuesday as buyers made a comeback, bolstering the bourse benchmark in the process and taking daily turnover back above the 50-million-euro level.

Investors appeared uninspired in what was a fairly quiet session at the Greek stock market on Thursday, with the few traders that could be bothered making select purchases. This took turnover back below the 50-million-euro mark while the benchmark kept to a very narrow range.

Athinon Avenue presented a mixed picture on Thursday, swinging back and forth between negative and positive territory before the benchmark finally ended only just in the black while losing stocks edged out the gainers by just one.

Greek stocks recorded moderate losses on Friday at the end of a week of minor gains, with turnover only just topping 50 million euros. It followed a session of significant growth on Thursday, which on Friday led to some traders cashing in their earnings.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse jumped 20 points on Thursday after a sudden buying spree by traders that saw banks earn almost 4 percent. The favorable climate on foreign markets and the continuing decline of Greek bond yields appear to have convinced investors to buy back into local stocks again.

Fresh pressure on bank stocks inflicted losses on the benchmark of the Greek stock market on Tuesday, while trading volume remained sluggish.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 853.89 points, shedding 0.77 percent from Monday's 860.51 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.64 percent to end at 2,107.21 points.