Viohalco

The benchmark of the Greek stock market may have seen its rising streak snap on Tuesday, but that was only marginally, as its decline was negligible and the overall course appears unchanged, despite the minor profit taking on the day. The maintenance of turnover at a relatively high level also bodes well for the next few sessions.

The outlook for Greece's sovereign credit rating to return to investment grade and the 50-million-euro package of Mytilineos shares that changed hands on Monday gave a fresh boost to the Greek stock market at the beginning of the week, with its benchmark climbing to highs unseen in almost 11 months. This was the sixth consecutive session of gains for the bourse.

The benchmark at Athinon Avenue registered yet another eight-month high on Wednesday, as traders appear willing to test the waters around 950 points, while daily turnover is also picking up pace. This was the fourth straight day of stock growth and the eighth session of gains for the main index in the last 11, extending the upward trend of the last couple of months.

Russia's latest "game" with natural gas is causing serious turmoil in the Greek stock market, which is currently moving with significant losses. In particular, the general index is falling by 1.55% to 924.35 points, with a turnover of more than 15 million euros.

The fourth consecutive day of gains at the Athens bourse gave the the benchmark its biggest advance as it climbed close to the 800-point mark, in line with most other markets that were open on Monday. Turnover topped 50 million euros despite the fact that major markets such as those of the US, Hong Kong and China were closed due to holidays.

The Greek bourse only held on to a fraction of its early gains on Friday, but that was enough to break its three-week losing streak and ensure this week came to a positive conclusion.

The Greek stock market's lowest trading volume of the last 13 sessions saw the benchmark suffer moderate losses on Thursday after three days of gains, as traders again appear reluctant to commit themselves to purchases until the picture regarding the coronavirus tempest clears.

Underperforming its European peers, Athinon Avenue was virtually flat at the end of the week's first session as it failed to catch the wave of gains observed in the rest of the eurozone, partly due to concerns about the course of the pandemic in Greece. Losing stocks narrowly edged out the gainers, but most indexes closed with slight growth.

A mixed Wednesday on the Greek bourse saw gainers edge out the losers and provided the benchmark with just enough fuel to climb back above the 800-point level, thanks mainly to the growth of bank stocks for the second day in a row.

The impressive rebound by bank stocks led the benchmark at Athinon Avenue back up to within sniffing distance of 800 points, and the risers outnumbered the losers by almost three to one. After three days of decline, it was considered about time for this market recovery, as there is no obvious reason for stocks to head lower at this point.