Aegean Air

This time the bulk of stocks at Athinon Avenue produced a strong reaction on Thursday to the decline of previous days, unlike the weak rebound of Wednesday. The main index reversed a significant portion of its recent losses, even if banks did fail to impress with their recovery on the day.

Monday's stock session followed the course of the Greek weather, with a steady decline in prices matching the drop in temperatures. The benchmark narrowly managed to stay above the 1,350-point level, mainly thanks to the activity of some buyers in selected blue chips, while the prospect of the Athens International Airport listing absorbed some of the market's liquidity.

The closing auctions turned things around at the Greek stock market on Tuesday, at the start of the trading week, offering the benchmark marginal gains despite the majority of stocks ending up in the red. International banking concerns appeared to have minimal impact on local credit sector stocks, while construction companies led the rebound.

The Greek stock market opened the new year with another eight-month high on Monday, even if trading was a fraction of its usual size, due to the festive season and the fact that Wall Street was closed.

The positive mood prevailed throughout the day at Athinon Avenue, with banks leading the way up and rising stocks outnumbering falling ones by a ratio of more than five-to-three.

The benchmark at Athinon Avenue made it 13 sessions of growth in a row on Tuesday, climbing to a new nine-month high and starting to flirt with the 800-point level. Observers keep speaking of expected profit-taking, but buyers have made it clear they still haven't had their fill of local stocks yet.

November may have been the month of the second lockdown, but it was also the month of the Greek stock market, as its benchmark rebounded 29.4% over the period and the banks index recorded a rise of almost 70% on a monthly basis. Monday's session changed little in the month's statistics, although large trading volume was observed due to index rebalancing.

The small gains secured on Monday by the ATHEX benchmark sufficed for it to clear the 700-point bar for the second time within the space of just a few days, in a session dominated by announcements about the Aegean Air share capital increase and the JP Morgan report that contained previous estimates of a stock price rise.

After a session of ups and downs, buyers retained the upper hand in the closing auctions at the Greek stock market on Friday and pushed the benchmark into the black after three consecutive days of losses.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 646.80 points, adding 0.29% to Thursday's 644.90 points. On a weekly basis it declined 5.36%.

Increasing pessimism on the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the economy weighed heavily on most blue chips at Athinon Avenue on Monday, including banks, with the benchmark only just remaining above the 600-point level. Prices also suffered pressure from some negative results issued by listed companies over the last few days.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market rose to a seven-week high on Tuesday as it continued its recovery in tandem with the easing of restrictions on economic activity announced. It appears the market will continue to ebb and flow according to the course of the pandemic even after the end of the lockdown next week.