Ellaktor

Much as Public Power Corporation's stock jumped on Monday on the announcement of the government's plan to prop up Greece's main utility company, the stock market showed a mixed picture at the end of trading, with gainers outnumbering losers, while the benchmark slipped below 865 points.

Lackluster buying interest on the bourse and the sudden drop in action in the last three hours of the session, after the Athens earthquake, resulted in minor losses for the majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue, but the week still closed with gains.

A mixed session at the bourse on Friday brought the first post-election week to a close with losses for the benchmark, while the market also used some of its cash availability to cover the bond issue by National Bank.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 858.33 points, shedding 0.58 percent from Thursday's 863.33 points. On a weekly basis it shrank 4.06 percent.

Despite a decline among banks, the vast majority of stocks ended up on the winning side on Thursday, with the benchmark advancing for a second day in a row, albeit marginally this time.

Non-bank blue chips contained the earlier losses of the Greek bourse's main index on Tuesday, but observers note the political change expected on July 7 has already been priced in and the geopolitical tensions off Cyprus, in the Aegean Sea and in the Persian Gulf are making traders cautious.

Athinon Avenue continued to record gains on Tuesday, with the benchmark edging up to a fresh 13-month high, while turnover exceeded 100 million euros again.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 845.95 points, adding 0.38 percent to Monday's 842.76 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.37 percent to end at 2,160.05 points.

The main index at Athinon Avenue recorded minor losses on Friday in a mixed session that witnessed pressure on stocks including Piraeus, PPC and Ellaktor, while in general the gainers outnumbered the losers by two-to-one.

The combination of traders cashing in recent gains and Greece's weaker-than-expected economic data for the first quarter of the year resulted in the majority of stocks at the Greek bourse taking losses on Tuesday.

The Athens bourse welcomed the results of Sunday's elections and the announcement of a snap poll on Monday. The benchmark jumped more than 6 percent, its best daily showing in almost four years, and turnover was triple Friday's.

The expansion in the presence of Greek construction groups still leaves a lot to be desired.

Amid considerable delays in the concession of new major contracts in the Greek market, the sector's companies are unable to get successfully involved in projects abroad as conditions remain difficult.