Marfin Investment Group

Investors’ wait-and-see stance regarding Greek stocks left the benchmark virtually unchanged on Monday, with the smattering of gains recorded during the day evaporating by the end of the session. Moody’s decision to postpone its revision of Greece’s credit rating contributed to the reduced trade at the start of the month, with turnover dropping to very low levels.

All of Wednesday’s stock gains evaporated during Thursday’s trading session in Athens as uncertainty regarding the country’s political and fiscal future overshadowed the positive corporate results announced in the last few days.

The last week of November began with minor losses for the Greek bourse’s benchmark as traders are anticipating developments regarding a pending review of the Greek program’s progress by the country’s creditors. With Fitch maintaining Greece’s ‘B’ credit rating late on Friday, the market is now shifting its attention to the new ratings to be announced by Moody’s at the end of this week.

Morning gains turned to afternoon losses for Greek stocks on Tuesday, as the benchmark dropped below the 900-point mark while National Bank’s stock dropped to a historic low of 1.71 euros per share.

The bourse benchmark managed to recover most of the losses incurred during Thursday’s session at Athinon Avenue, having dropped as low as 966 points, to close at just over the 990-point mark.

The stock market finally regained some lost ground on Thursday after six straight days of decline to send its benchmark just over the 1,025-point level.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 1,025.05 points, adding 1.70 percent to Wednesday’s closing of 1,007.94 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index expanded 1.76 percent, ending at 333.97 points.

Reports about the European Central Bank being ready to factor the Greek banks’ restructuring plans into the stress tests, and to include junk bonds – such as those of Greece – in the ABS bond-buying program were enough to send bank stocks higher but not to keep the benchmark afloat on Wednesday.

The local bourse’s weekly losses came to a painful 5.41 percent at the end of Friday’s session, when the benchmark spent most of the day in the red but managed to redeem itself slightly thanks to a strong showing by buyers in the closing auctions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 1,086.50 points, shedding 0.14 percent from Thursday’s 1,087.98 points.

The early deferred tax assets euphoria at the Greek bourse wore off during the afternoon on Thursday, with gains turning into losses far greater than those obeserved on most other Western markets. Some urgent stop-loss moves sent the benchmark close to the day’s lowest point at the closing.

Following a morning decline in line with most other European bourses, the Greek market continued to head south on Tuesday as it became clear that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Chancellor Angela Merkel were not going to announce any far-reaching statements after their meeting in Berlin. As a result, the benchmark fell to its lowest point of the last 25 sessions.