Aegean Air

The Greek stock market returned to action after four days of recess with strong gains for most stocks on Tuesday on optimism that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe is over and oil prices will revert to stability after the recent agreement between oil-producing states. The late surge was bolstered by news that Greece is planning to tap the markets.

The decline that started toward the end of Tuesday's stock trading session at Athinon Avenue continued throughout the day on Wednesday, led by the credit sector, which took significant losses, in line with most international markets. Daily turnover dropped significantly.

The European Central Bank decision to lift its 33 percent limit on euro area government bond purchases gave Greek stocks a second consecutive day of healthy gains on Thursday. The bourse saw its capitalization grow by 2.5 billion euros over those two sessions, with credit sector stocks playing a major role in that advance.

For a second day in a row the Greek bourse benchmark continued its recovery without the support of bank stocks on Wednesday, although mid-session gains had shrunk by the end of what was a fairly slow day.

Friday's bourse session was much like Thursday's, with a mild increase for the majority of stocks as the benchmark climbed to levels unseen since February 2015. This sedate growth is slowly convincing observers that the main index may well capture the 1,000-point level in the coming months.

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.

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.

Stocks in Athens resisted pressures and continued their upward trajectory on Monday, with banks getting the credit for grabbing investors' attention and leading the benchmark higher, although turnover remained below the 50-million-euro mark. Traders appear to be pricing in a likely Greek credit rating upgrade this Friday by Standard & Poor's.

The Athens stock market managed to remain on a rising course on Tuesday, on presentable trading volume, although stocks painted a mixed picture and the banks index headed lower. Traders were very selective, opting to cash in recent bank stock gains while buying into other blue chips and mid-caps.

The Greek bourse benchmark rose 1.96 percent over the month of March, taking the growth of the main index in the first quarter of the year to 17.62 percent.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 721.37 points on Friday, adding 1.08 percent to Thursday's 713.66 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 1.85 percent.