Jumbo

After heading south in the previous three sessions, Greek stocks in Athens reversed course on Wednesday, with most ending up in the black and the benchmark reclaiming the 800-point level it had lost on Tuesday. The expected reopening of the retail market is seen as a catalyst for some short-term gains in the coming days.

Members of the Rouvikonas (Greek for Rubicon) group splashed paint and scattered fliers outside the residence of Apostolos Vakakis, the CEO of Greek toy and seasonal items retailer Jumbo, in an overnight protest over labor rights.

Greek retailer Jumbo said on Tuesday thousands of containers filled with toys it ordered months before Christmas remain stuck in ports around the world as warehouses in Greece are overwhelmed due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

A Greek website said Jumbo had about 6,000 containers stuck on cargo ships.

A company official told Reuters the "figure is impressive, but it's real." 

The small gains secured on Monday by the ATHEX benchmark sufficed for it to clear the 700-point bar for the second time within the space of just a few days, in a session dominated by announcements about the Aegean Air share capital increase and the JP Morgan report that contained previous estimates of a stock price rise.

Thursday's session on the Athens Stock Exchange was even more subdued than recent days, if that is possible.

In the end, the general index, which had been showing mild losses throughout, tipped over into positive territory, closing at 637.27 points, a gain of 0.36%. Late gains in OTE Telecom were the main reason.

Turnover was €23.61 million on volume of 16,373,894 shares.

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 were back in the driving seat at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, taking the Greek bourse benchmark to a new three-month high - i.e. its highest since the coronavirus epidemic began in Greece. The 700-point milestone seems to be growing closer, while investors appear to have plenty of disposable cash.

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.

Credit sector stocks led the benchmark of the Greek bourse further below the 600-point mark on Wednesday. It followed the relegation of the domestic banks' outlook from positive to stable by Moody's, and the restructuring of the MSCI index, which also sent trading volume to its highest point in 15 sessions.

Bank stocks led the Greek bourse to a day of healthy gains, with the benchmark climbing above the 610-point mark, although daily turnover still left much to be desired. After Thursday's European Union summit, traders are anticipating Friday's verdict on the Greek economy by Standard & Poor's and DBRS Morningstar.