Cyprus Stock Exchange

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) had quite a satisfactory year in 2023 with the CSE General Index marking an annual growth of 52%, Marinos Christodoulides, chairman of the CSE Council, said in a statement regarding the Cypriot stock market's annual performance.

He noted that last year's growth followed the year-on-year rise of 2022, which had amounted to 30.42%.

Another day, another sell-off on the Greek bourse, whose benchmark slipped below the 500-point level on Monday on reduced turnover.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 484.40 points, a new 49-month low, shedding 12.24 percent from Friday's 551.97 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index slumped 13.89 percent to 1,194.86 points.

Greek stocks followed the upward international trend on Tuesday after a Black Monday that saw the local benchmark fall almost 13.4 percent, though the closing prices at Athinon Avenue were some way below the day's high, pointing to the possibility of more losses on Wednesday.

The combination of disappointing quarterly results in the country's growth in October-December and mounting concerns over the impact of the coronavirus on the economy resulted in yet another slide in stock prices at Athinon Avenue on Friday.

The Greek bourse rebounded on Tuesday in a faster and more impressive fashion than was expected, after its worst week in over five years. While coronavirus concerns have not subsided, the recovery in US markets on Monday and hopes for action from central banks boosted prices.

The Greek benchmark was buoyed by bank stocks and prearranged transactions on Tuesday, and ended the session safely clear of the 900-point zone. Turnover also showed a marked improvement.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 917 points, adding 1.55 percent to Monday's 902.98 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.53 percent to 2,296.31 points.

Coronavirus concerns continued to weigh on stocks internationally, sending the benchmark of the Greek bourse close to 900 points on Monday on its sixth consecutive day of losses.

Cypriot lender Hellenic Bank anticipates a listing of its shares on the Athens Stock Exchange in early 2015, its chairwoman said on Wednesday, giving the bank access to additional market liquidity.

"I would say that within, probably, the first couple of months of 2015 that would be possible," Irena Georgiadou told Reuters.

Financiers in Cyprus, an island divided by war four decades ago, want to set up an Islamic finance hub to spur an economy that hasn’t grown in three years.

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association is calling for the government to sell sukuk to lure investment from the Middle East, CIFSA’s president, Angelos Gregoriades, said in an e-mail interview from the capital Nicosia.