Marfin Investment Group

Non-banking blue chips turned their backs on the turmoil that continued to rock local lenders on Monday, although the significant gains recorded by the benchmark came on a day with very low turnover.

Revelations about the major shortfall in December state revenues ? with a direct impact on the primary surplus ? and the cacophony of statements from election favorite SYRIZA candidates on the future of relations with the country?s creditors put an end on Wednesday to a series of gains for the Greek benchmark that had stretched to three sessions.

By Dimitra Manifava

Food group Chipita is relocating back to Greece from Cyprus, bucking the recent trend of major enterprises leaving this country. The move is based on the improvement in Chipita?s net position and on the decision to relist the company on the Greek bourse, according to the company?s CEO Spyros Theodoropoulos.

The return of the prospect of a Greek exit from the eurozone according to foreign reports and the continuing fragmentation of the local political landscape led to a mini sell-off on Monday, with a relatively increased trading volume.

The year ended in the Greek stock market with annual losses of 29 percent for the benchmark, but Wednesday provided an unexpected rise to prices that left some observers wondering what it is they may have missed and the traders have already in mind.

Greek stocks presented a mixed picture on Tuesday, as banks and most blue chips headed south, while mid-caps and small-caps enjoyed gains and turnover slid to a more subdued holiday level.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 819.81 points, shedding 0.45 percent from Monday’s 819.81 points.

Weekly gains on the Greek bourse came to 4.60 percent after a session during which the benchmark temporarily climbed 1.7 percent, driven by growth in New York and the December triple witching, before following the rest of the eurozone markets and registering losses of more than 1 percent.

Black Tuesday’s sell-off continued during early trade on Wednesday at the Athens bourse, with the benchmark down more than 4 percent at one point. However, most stocks managed to contain their losses, and gains by some of the previous day’s biggest losers, including MIG and PPC, limited the damage to a drop of just 1 percent at the end of the session.

Traders hardly batted an eyelid at the government’s positive result in the parliamentary vote for the budget, keeping most of their attention firmly fixed on developments on the troika front. Accordingly the Greek bourse saw little action, with the benchmark refusing to give any ground and remaining afloat for one more day on Monday.

The European Central Bank’s refusal to take any further action to boost growth before next year took a toll on most European markets, with the local bourse seeing its early gains turn into losses on Thursday.