Ellaktor

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 benchmark of the Greek stock market resisted heading south on Monday despite spending most of the day in the red and seeing its eurozone peers suffer losses. A late rally offset all of the day's losses, although the blue-chip and the mid-cap indexes ended with a small decline and turnover remained at low levels.

After a session of ups and downs, buyers retained the upper hand in the closing auctions at the Greek stock market on Friday and pushed the benchmark into the black after three consecutive days of losses.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 646.80 points, adding 0.29% to Thursday's 644.90 points. On a weekly basis it declined 5.36%.

Bank stocks continued their advance on Tuesday, while investor attention was focused on the benchmark bond issue, but non-banking stocks dragged the main index lower at the start of this four-day trading week at Athinon Avenue.

The European Commission announcements concerning grants and loans for member-states adding up to 750 million euros gave Greek stocks a major boost on Wednesday, in line with most other European bourses. The fourth consecutive day of gains on the highest turnover of the last two-and-a-half months took the benchmark over 8.5% higher compared to last Thursday's closing.

Despite the hour-long interruption to Tuesday's trading session due to a technical failure, bank stocks staged an impressive rebound of more than 12%, taking the benchmark at Athinon Avenue to fresh gains. The international climate continues to improve as hopes for a coronavirus vaccine keep growing, helping turnover in the local market to recover.

The Greek securities markets are showing a shift from stocks to bonds, as confidence in the state's solvency is growing while the private sector is facing multiple problems. On the same day the benchmark of Athinon Avenue suffered minor losses and banks dipped to new lows, the Greek 10-year bond continued its rally, with its yield dropping to 1.73% on Thursday.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market ended every session this week below the 600-point mark, as Friday's gains - largely driven by Wall Street's healthy rise on Thursday - were contained toward the end of the session.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 593.26 points, adding 0.87% to Thursday's 588.12 points. On a weekly basis it declined 1.79%.

The Greek bourse saw another mixed session with limited action on Tuesday, as turnover showed some improvement and the benchmark stayed afloat without managing to get a firm grip on the 600-point level it had reached during the day.

The Greek economy avoided a credit rating downgrade on Friday, as Fitch, DBRS Morningstar and Standard & Poor's only reduced its outlook from "positive" to "stable," which investors greeted by sending Greek stocks higher on Monday, although trading volume remained low.