Eurobank

In a perfectly balanced trading session at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday, stocks were split down the middle between winners and losers, with the benchmark remaining rudderless.

Technical changes and glitches and the payment of dividends contributed to a peculiar session at the Greek stock exchange on Monday, with mixed results and reduced turnover at the start of the week leading up to the December triple witching.

The main index of the Greek bourse stopped its southward course on Thursday - but only just - in a mixed session with low trading volume and the majority of stocks (including banks) heading lower.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 728.76 points, adding 0.17 percent to Wednesday's 727.53 points.

Alpha Bank is transferring debts in its portfolio from cards, consumer loans and small corporate loans delayed between five and seven years, with a total value of 2.5 billion euros.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse posted a decline for a third session in a row on Wednesday despite the slight rise of the banks index and the healthy gains of small-caps. The local market apparently does not share the optimism of debt traders who sent bond and treasury-bill yields even lower on Wednesday.

The negative mood resulting from the withdrawal of draft legislation on strike action, the cancellation of Wednesday's property auctions and weak growth data for the third quarter of the year prompted a second day of losses for most stocks at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday.

Many investors cashed in last week's gains on Monday, while turnover fell to the lowest point since November 28. Some losses were expected following the spending spree observed in previous sessions, although the unexpected shrinking of growth in the third quarter deepened the impact, while the market had already factored in the staff-level agreement with the country's creditors.

The seventh consecutive session of gains for the benchmark of the Greek stock market on Friday confirmed the positive momentum as it was in the latter half of the day that buyers made their presence felt, boosting banks by another 4.75 percent.

The launch of online auctions gave the banks index, and the local stock market in general, a fresh boost on Wednesday on considerably improved turnover that mirrored aspirations for a swift conclusion to the third bailout review and the strengthening of banks' financial reports.

Investors gave a thumbs-up on Tuesday to news that notaries had ended their boycott of property auctions, as Greek bank stocks jumped 4.25 percent at Athinon Avenue. However, the rest of the market didn't see much of a knock-on effect.