Quest Holdings

For the third day in a row the benchmark of the Greek stock market posted minor gains on Thursday, with blue chips growing and mid-caps shrinking, and the majority of stocks ending up on the losing side. The main index is again creeping up toward 1,100 points, while the daily trading volumes seen this week lag those of previous months.

Greek banks may have had a boost from Standard & Poor's ratings, but on the stock market they suffered significant losses on Tuesday that weighed heavily on the entire market. As a result, the benchmark at Athinon Avenue dropped below the 1,100-point mark, with just a handful of blue chips resisting the pressure.

Tuesday was a day of healthy gains on the Greek stock market, reminiscent of the sessions of high growth in the first couple of months of 2023. Assurances by domestic and foreign experts over the strength of the local credit system offered a major boost to bank stocks that led blue chips to a significant rebound.

The constant march higher of Greek stocks continued on Wednesday, on a considerably increased turnover thanks to a number of business deals that not only increased the trading volume but also further fed the optimism among investors for medium-term gains. More than half of the day's turnover took place during the closing auctions.

The main index of the Greek stock market is seriously eyeing the 1,000-point milestone following another session of growth on Friday that saw it climb to its highest level since February 11, 2022, for yet another 11-month high. This time the price growth was universal and not restricted to certain sectors or capitalization sizes, not to mention the increase in turnover.

The Greek stock market completed an entire week of growth, as Thursday's session was the fifth in succession with the benchmark in the black, climbing this time above the 950-point mark, only to illustrate to observers that the only way is up for the local bourse these days.

The Greek stock market opened the new year with another eight-month high on Monday, even if trading was a fraction of its usual size, due to the festive season and the fact that Wall Street was closed.

The positive mood prevailed throughout the day at Athinon Avenue, with banks leading the way up and rising stocks outnumbering falling ones by a ratio of more than five-to-three.