athens exchange

The Greek stock market on Wednesday repeated its ascent of Tuesday, climbing to yet another 14-week high based on the second consecutive day of advance by banks.

Bank stocks gave the main index of the Greek stock market the boost it needed to rise to a new three-month high on Tuesday, on improved turnover too. The day saw the main index on a constant upswing, but it was only at the end of the session that the rising stocks outnumbered falling ones, by the smallest of margins too.

Traders at the Greek stock market stayed on the same path of caution they have been on throughout December to date, with reduced action at Athinon Avenue and a mixed picture for stock prices on Monday. 

However, despite a drop in the blue-chip and banks indexes, the benchmark managed to end up in the black for the day, albeit marginally.

While the vast majority of stocks at the Greek bourse closed with gains Thursday, the benchmark of the market remained practically unchanged and banks suffered renewed pressure, losing some of the ground recently secured. Observers note the significant expansion of investor interest in mid- and small-caps at Athinon Avenue in recent days.

Mid-caps proved quite the attraction at the Greek stock market on Wednesday, taking the benchmark out of the red and into the black, with the vast majority of stocks ending up with gains on the day. Still, trading volume remained at a moderate level for another session, as activity in the markets appears to have already slowed down with the approach of the festive season.

December appears to have started in a relatively slow mode for the Greek stock market, despite the Fitch Ratings boost last Friday and the decline in Greek bond yields. On Tuesday prices at Athinon Avenue headed lower, though their decline was contained during the closing auctions, while trading remained below the 100-milllion-euro mark. 

The Greek stock market had largely taken for granted the credit rating upgrade by Fitch Ratings last Friday, so on Monday it showed a mixed picture as the losers narrowly outnumbered the gainers and the main index came of a three-month high to post a small drop, along with the banks index. A handful of blue chips contained the benchmark's losses, while mid-caps continued their advance.

The Greek stock market entered December recording a new three-month high for its benchmark on Friday, even if that was on significantly reduced daily turnover, the lowest of the week. The rise of the majority of stocks came in the face of a decline by banks, with mid-caps behind the main push upward.

November proved to be a very profitable month for the Greek stock market, and not only for bank stocks, whose index soared 12.44%, but also for the benchmark, which has grabbed 6.88% from October 31. The month ended with a high-trade day due to index rebalancing and gains for most stocks, which took the main index to a new 12-week high on Thursday.

The main index of the Greek stock market rose to highs unseen since September 6 on Wednesday, on the combination of the end-of-year window dressing for many investors and the prospect of a possible credit rating upgrade for Greece by Fitch on Friday. The benchmark spent the entire day in the black and the daily turnover managed to clear the 100-million-euro bar for another session.