athens exchange

Traders reverted to profit-taking at the Greek bourse on Thursday, following morning gains, with refineries and industrial companies being at the focus of sellers this time instead of banks, whose index has been in decline all week. Most of the losses were recorded in the closing auctions, with the benchmark ending the session at the day's low.

Amid international concern about the manufacturing index (PMI) in China, which points to a notable slowdown, stock markets in Europe showed their concern on Wednesday with prices sliding in their majority.

Traders at the Greek stock market chose to cash in on some of their recent gains on Tuesday, with the main index at Athinon Avenue coming off Monday's nine-year high for some moderate losses for the majority of stocks, led by banks. Nevertheless, mid-caps bucked the trend and their index remained in positive territory.

The peaceful conclusion of the Turkish elections and of the debt limit standoff in the US allowed European stocks to recover and the Greek bourse to extend its recent gains on Monday. The benchmark at Athinon Avenue climbed to a new nine-year high and turnover was remarkable given the holiday in the US and the UK.

The main index at the Greek bourse slid back below the 1,200-point level it had captured this week, as on Wednesday it gave up some of the ground earned during Monday's huge rise. 

Banks were at the center of the market's profit-taking, though many mid-caps resisted the pressure and their index fared better than the rest of the market, losing only 0.66%.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market soared to levels unseen since July 2014 on Monday thanks to the election result on Sunday that has opened the way for ruling New Democracy to score a new four-year mandate.

The Greek stock market ended the last week before the general election with gains, which made it the third consecutive week of growth for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue. The market appears calm ahead of the polls, in contrast with what is happening on the other side of the Aegean, while turnover in Athens increased on Friday thanks to maturing of the month's derivatives.

Investors continue{ to tread carefully in the local market as Sunday's election approaches, so on Thursday they reduced their activity to the bare minimum, with the majority of stocks and the benchmark at Athinon Avenue posting small losses. The day's turnover was the lowest of the month so far. Friday's session may be the last before the polls, but also sees the expiry of the April derivatives

Wednesday's narrow session at the Athens stock market saw the benchmark come off Tuesday's 104-month high and after negligible fluctuation it closed with a small drop, though the losing stocks outnumbered those that notched up gains. 

The market's growing optimism about political stability in Greece after the elections and the favorable views on Greek banks by foreign firms contributed to a significant rebound of local stocks on Tuesday that sent the Athens benchmark to levels unseen in nearly nine years. The price rise also came with an increase in turnover, which approached 100 million euros.