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Traders continued to sell Greek stocks on Thursday as conflicting statements from officials on the local economy and an adverse international environment kept up the pressure on local stock prices. Even so, both the indexes and the prices managed to rise above the day's low by closing time.

Bank stocks and a few other blue chips propped up the benchmark at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday as the majority of stocks on the board headed south and trading volume sank.

After rising in early trade, Greek stocks headed lower on Monday - although not below the psychologically significant 700-point level - as investors banked profits following a series of northbound sessions. The market is also seen to be saving its liquidity for Greece's 10-year bond issue, as well as Aegean Air's corporate bond.

The non-bank blue chips kept the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) benchmark afloat on Thursday, in spite of the significant decline seen the previous day in the US market and pressure on bank stocks. Turnover improved slightly and stocks were split down the middle between winners and losers.

The decline on the Greek bourse that began last Friday continued on Wednesday while turnover remained low. Athinon Avenue appears to be heading in a whole other direction to the rest of the eurozone, which saw markets recover after the agreement between Brussels and Rome on the Italian budget.

After Thursday's respite, sellers returned to the Greek stock market in force on Friday, resulting in losses for all blue chips except one and the benchmark closing at its lowest point since March 2017.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 658.97 points, shedding 2.57 percent from Thursday's 676.36 points. On a weekly basis it declined 4.73 percent.

The closing auctions at the end of Monday's trading session in Athens wiped out all the gains registered over the course of the day and took the benchmark back into negative territory. Trading volume was very low as traders remain skeptical about the local market.

News of the further easing of the capital controls and the continuing decline of Greek bond yields on Thursday helped the benchmark at Athinon Avenue remain above the 700-point mark for a second day in a row and notch up moderate gains in the process.

The Greek stock market made a remarkable recovery on Tuesday with the benchmark ending up just below the 700-point mark. The recent selling spree at Athinon Avenue, the decline in Greek bond yields and the relative euphoria on foreign markets set the stage for a stock surge but the relatively poor trading volume didn't give it the power required to clear the psychologically important level.

Trader disappointment on Monday over Moody's decision not to issue its verdict on the Greek economy last Friday, amid the general negative mood in markets due to the mutual tariffs on US and Chinese goods, put fresh pressure on most local stocks, with the low turnover mirroring investor reluctance.