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Chalking up a fifth straight week of losses on Friday, the Greek benchmark slid below the 1,000-point level on more than one occasion before the end the session. It twice fell to 998 points but both times immediately bounced back up, finally closing at just under 1,005 points.

Investor uncertainty in Athens continued to push the benchmark index to new 12-month lows on Wednesday – the sixth losing session for most local stocks – but at least it remained above the crucial 1,000-point level.

The moderate growth posted by the Athens benchmark at the end of Tuesday’s trading failed to avert another monthly drop – the sixth in a row for the Greek bourse’s main index, which in September gave up 8.63 percent of its value. It was the first time in three years that the bourse declined for a sixth month in succession.

Hopes of the Greek benchmark extending its four-week rising streak were crushed on Friday as the session’s stock decline sealed a week of losses that came to 2.99 percent for the main index, while daily turnover averaged 21 percent below last week’s.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 1,161.28 points, shedding 0.46 percent from Thursday’s 1,166.60 points.

September started with marginal losses at the Greek bourse and the fourth-lowest daily turnover this year as investors continued to stay away due to the lack of a clear fiscal landscape ahead of talks between Athens and its international creditors. The revision of the economic contraction during the second quarter by ELSTAT did not help matters either.

Stocks declined in their majority for the firth day in a row in the Greek market on Friday, painting the entire week in red as the benchmark suffered losses of 4.26 percent compared with the end of the previous week. Since the start of the year the index has seen marginal gains of just 0.02 percent.

The last session of April saw blue chips stage a rally that saw the benchmark reclaim 1,230 points and turnover exceed 250 million euros, including several prearranged transactions.

The thumbs-up given by Moody’s to Greek banks, coupled with the expected return of Eurobank and Viohalco to the blue-chip index ended the decline of Greek stocks with a late rally that gave the benchmark marginal gains on Tuesday.

Greek stocks recorded major losses on Monday as the local market continued to slide for an eighth trading day in a row after the week started with more volatility than expected and declining international markets weighed on their Athens counterpart. A rebound is due, although the upcoming Easter holidays will likely contain any risk taking.