Mytilineos

Stocks in the Greek bourse were once again swayed by banks that dragged the market lower on Tuesday, accelerating the benchmark's decline toward the 900-point mark.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 911.82 points, shedding 0.86 percent from Monday's 919.77 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.95 percent to 2,291.80 points.

A number of Athens-listed companies are planning to take part in a new wave of bond issues, aiming to make the most of the favorable climate in the market and the improvement in investor confidence in Greece.

The Greek benchmark was buoyed by bank stocks and prearranged transactions on Tuesday, and ended the session safely clear of the 900-point zone. Turnover also showed a marked improvement.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 917 points, adding 1.55 percent to Monday's 902.98 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.53 percent to 2,296.31 points.

Global concerns over the expansion of China's coronavirus have taken a toll on international markets, with the Greek bourse again being no exception. Thursday's was the fourth consecutive session of losses, which so far this week have added up to 1.6 billion euros in capitalization.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse came off last Friday's five-year highs on Monday as the market appeared to be keeping some cash aside for the upcoming 15-year Greek government bond issue. International pressure on stocks from the Chinese coronavirus played a part too, while the Greek economy's upgrade by Fitch had already been priced in last week.

Many investors opted to sit out Thursday's trading session at Athinon Avenue ahead of Friday night's verdict by Fitch on Greece's rating and outlook, with sellers putting an end to the benchmark's seven-session rising streak.

The fifth consecutive session of moderate growth for the Greek bourse saw the benchmark advance to a new five-year high, as it climbed to levels unseen since December 2014.

Friday's bourse session was much like Thursday's, with a mild increase for the majority of stocks as the benchmark climbed to levels unseen since February 2015. This sedate growth is slowly convincing observers that the main index may well capture the 1,000-point level in the coming months.

The stocks of former state companies gave the main index of the Greek bourse a major push on Tuesday while the banks' index stayed put. The benchmark rebounded within range of the 900-point level, with daily turnover rising above 100 million euros.

Investor interest in the Greek state's UltraFast BroadBand (UFBB) project illustrates the swing toward infrastructure: A total of 10 investors have expressed non-binding interest in the project, including one from abroad. The latter is Oman Fiber Optic (OFO), which is based in Muscat, Oman.