Motor Oil

Tuesday's bourse session was a mixed bag, with a few package transactions boosting trading volume in what was otherwise a quiet day at Athinon Avenue. However, there was notable pressure on bank stocks.

Monday's downbeat trade on the Greek stock market was marked by the lowest turnover in the last 29 sessions, with the majority of stocks posting losses and a day when most European bourses registered gains.

The surprise sovereign rating upgrade by Moody's and signs of a recovery on Wall Street boosted activity on the Greek stock market on Thursday, with buyers regaining the upper hand and trading volume posting an improvement.

The Athens stock market appears to have run out of steam in the last few days, with reduced buying interest and lower trading volume, as was the case in Wednesday's mixed session. Mid- and small-caps outperformed, albeit on a significantly lower number of transactions.

The Greek bourse saw stocks head lower on Friday as a result of pressure on international securities markets over the last couple of days. Trading volume was the lowest in the last four sessions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 875.38 points, shedding 1.25 percent from Thursday's 886.44 points, but on a weekly basis it slipped just 0.31 percent.

The stress test parameters, which are more conducive to optimism than those of 2015, gave bank stocks a boost in Wednesday's trading session at Athinon Avenue, taking the benchmark's total gains for January to 9.53 percent - its best monthly performance in 20 months.

The Athens bourse benchmark chalked up fresh gains during the closing auctions on Tuesday, climbing close to a five-month high on what was its 15th northbound day in the last 17 sessions, since December 13. While banks had a balanced day, buyers' attention focused on mid- and small-caps.

Wednesday's sixth consecutive session of gains for the benchmark of the Athens stock market took it to a new three-month high, on respectable turnover and significant gains for the majority of blue chips, including banks.

A late surge by Greek stocks on Tuesday offset the losses racked up earlier in the session, leaving a balanced picture at the end of trade as the benchmark rose for a fifth session in a row. However, the continued slide in trading volume has dimmed the prospects of a "year-end rally."

The drop in Greek bond yields and window dressing efforts in the approach to year-end contributed to a healthy rise in stock prices at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, while two package transactions for Eurobank and Grivalia Properties sent trading volume soaring.