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The benchmark of the Greek stock market narrowly managed to avoid dropping below the 800-point mark on Monday as investors indulged in profit taking following the recent gains enjoyed by most stocks. All but two blue chips suffered losses, led by banks, in line with most other European markets.

The Greek bourse benchmark's 14-session rising streak - the first this century - came to an end on Thursday, with significant losses for the majority of stocks, although not all blue chips followed the bank stocks on their steep decline. At any rate, the benchmark demonstrated that it is not yet ready to conquer the 800-point mark.

Bank stocks almost single-handedly secured gains for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue at the start of the week, as other blue chips headed lower. The recent momentum continues unabated though, as also illustrated by the daily turnover level.

The pandemic has accelerated corporate evolution, with the sale of products directly from the producer to the consumer - hitherto restricted to the primary sector - now infiltrating the consumer goods industry as well.

The profit-taking recorded during Wednesday's bourse session was not enough to avert another day of growth for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue, which has risen to a new nine-month high thanks to the advance of banks and a handful of other blue chips.

Bank stocks and the rest of the Greek stock market appeared to be in two parallel universes on Wednesday, as the former suffered losses after days of growth, while the vast majority of listed companies enjoyed gains for another day, taking the benchmark higher.

World markets were upbeat on Tuesday, following the announcement of bolstering measures by the central banks of the US and Japan, while expectations for an economic rebound starting in the second half of the year added to global stocks' upward swing. In Greece, Athinon Avenue enjoyed a day of significant gains that rose over the course of the day across the board.

The Fed's {decision on Wednesday to hold the key US interest rates unchanged inflicted losses on most European stock markets on Thursday; the Greek bourse followed suit, with its benchmark heading south for the third day in a row, on the lowest daily turnover in 11 sessions.

Early profit-taking at Athinon Avenue gave way to a fresh wave of buying later on Thursday - although banks appeared to have fallen out of favor - taking the benchmark higher for the fifth session in a row. The market is now confidently looking toward more growth, boosted also by the significant increase in daily trading volumes.

On a day when Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange remained closed, the Greek bourse secured a rather satisfactory turnover of almost 50 million euros on Monday, with traders opting to position themselves ahead of this Friday's upcoming index rebalancing. Leading the benchmark to strong gains were bank stocks, which were oversold in previous sessions.