Motor Oil

Banks and the majority of stocks ended the session on Thursday with losses, but the benchmark managed to close virtually unchanged thanks to support from a handful of blue chips.

Buyers enjoyed a second day of dominance at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, bolstered by the upward swing of stock exchanges in Europe and the US, and the recovery of Greek bond prices. The low turnover points to a temporary northward trend, though.

Investors appear wary of the expansion of listed group Motor Oil into the domain of the media. The company's stock, one of the most reliable and stable securities on the Greek stock market, started sliding on the day after the announcement of the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in broadcaster Alpha TV, shedding almost 20 percent of its value in just two days.

The sharp decline of Motor Oil stock and renewed selling of bank stocks led the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) benchmark to a new 20-month low on Thursday as it registered its biggest daily decline in 13 months.

The ATHEX general index ended at 619.32 points, shedding 3.25 percent from Wednesday's 640.15 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 2.96 percent to 1,633.79 points.

The Greek stock market ended October with monthly losses of 7.45 percent for the benchmark and 3.7 billion euros for the market's capitalization. The decline was mitigated on Wednesday as the majority of stock prices posted a slight increase while turnover rose significantly, driven by activity surrounding Motor Oil and Jumbo stocks.

Athens-listed group Motor Oil announced yesterday the acquisition of a 97.08 percent of the Investment Bank of Greece (IBG) for 73.5 million euros. The deal was signed on Tuesday.

The buyout of the lender is made through Motor Oil's 100 percent subsidiary Ireon Investments Ltd that is based in Cyprus.

Traders' stop-loss move during the latter part of Friday's session at the Athens stock market preserved the benchmark's gains since Monday, with the main index chalking up its first weekly increase after four consecutive weeks of losses.

The ATHEX general index ended at 633.27 points, shedding 0.03 percent from Thursday's 633.46 points. On a weekly basis it rose 1.35 percent.

Greek stocks presented a mixed picture on Thursday: The majority headed south but the banks index headed higher, helping the benchmark to end the rather volatile session in positive territory. The main index only held on to a fraction of the gains recorded earlier in the day.

Buying interest in Greek banks on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) picked up on Wednesday as the pressure on European markets eased, allowing for a technical recovery of local credit stocks after they slumped to a new 32-month low on Tuesday.

A statement of support by Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras got Greek stocks off to a positive start on Wednesday, but a Moody's report stressing how much of a challenge bad loans pose to Greek banks soured the mood again, leading the benchmark back into the red at the close.