Motor Oil

That Friday feeling and some not unexpected profit taking saw trading volume drop and many stock prices register a decline at the Athens bourse on Friday, at the end of another week of gains - the fourth in a row - for the benchmark.

Trading on the Greek bourse produced mixed results on Thursday, with banks and a number of other stocks sliding while other blue chips such as Aegean, OTE and Motor Oil led the majority of stocks higher.

The growth of the Greek bourse's main index without the support of the bank sector is a trend that has emerged in in recent days and continued on Tuesday, with the banks index underperforming compared to the market benchmark, which keeps hitting new two-year highs every day.

The sudden cancellation of Tuesday's Euro Working Group meeting and the international uncertainty on various fronts contributed to the losses registered at Athinon Avenue in Tuesday's trading session, although the low turnover indicated that some players are still waiting for a clearer picture before making any decisive moves.

Apparently still in holiday mode, the Greek stock market had a mixed performance on Wednesday, with very thin trading, minor gains for the benchmark, robust growth for banks and a high number of losers - almost on a par with gainers. Traders appear reserved ahead of decisions on Greece expected from the International Monetary Fund.

News from Friday's Eurogroup meeting in Malta untied investors' purse strings in Athens and sent the benchmark to a new 17-month high, ahead of a week expected to offer easy gains given the customary drop in trade as Easter approaches.

Blue chips bounced back on Monday afternoon to offset their morning losses and end the day with small gains. However, the majority of stocks ended in the red and turnover amounted to the lowest level in 15 sessions - pointing to investor caution.

A late rally of bank stocks and a few other blue chips offset the losses the benchmark had incurred during most of Wednesday's session to end in the green, although losers outnumbered climbers. Reports of convergence between government ministers and creditors' representatives in Brussels played a major part in that late surge.

The losses sustained by bank stocks at the start of the trading week weighed on the Greek bourse benchmark in what was a rather nervous session in view of Monday's Eurogroup meeting. As a result, the main index ended lower, even though most other blue chips posted gains.

The downward revision of the economy's fourth-quarter results by statistics agency ELSTAT increased uncertainty at the local bourse on Monday, leading to the third consecutive session of losses for its benchmark, albeit not to the extent one might have expected considering the problems in the bailout review and the warning from Moody's.