Viohalco

Greek stocks suffered a significant drop on Friday, wiping out almost all the gains registered by the bourse benchmark over the course of the week. The decline was led by the banks index, which posted a 4.42 percent weekly loss.

The banks index at Athinon Avenue staged a 2.74 percent rebound on Thursday, leading the benchmark of the Greek bourse back up to 926 points on turnover of more than 100 million euros.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 926.06 points, adding 1.30 percent to Wednesday's 914.17 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.22 percent to 2,308.07 points.

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East took a toll on global markets on Friday, and the Greek bourse was no exception. The main index at Athinon Avenue contained its losses at the end of the session, coming off a decline of more than 2.2 percent over the course of the day.

The Greek stock market bucked the trend set by its peers in the rest of the eurozone and the US on Monday to record losses at the start of the week, with pressure mounting on bank stocks and a few other blue chips, and trading volume posting a notable decline too.

The Greek stock market enjoyed a day of solid gains on Thursday, with banks and Coca-Cola recording considerable growth and trading volume confirming that Athinon Avenue enjoyed wider investor interest than usual. Thursday's growth added a remarkable 1.2 billion euros to the bourse's capitalization.

The Brexit limbo that affected most eurozone stock markets on Wednesday was largely offset in Athens by optimism in the local credit sector and the continued decline of Greek bond yields, leaving the main index at Athinon Avenue largely unchanged, while the banks index climbed to levels unseen in 14 months.

The Greek stock market benchmark edged marginally higher again on Thursday, but the increase in turnover did not translate into a significant advance for blue chips, as their index ended up in the red. Gains for small-caps, on the other hand, led to winners surpassing the losers at the end of the session.

The treasury bill issue that recorded a negative yield for the first time in Greece's history dominated trading at the local stock market on Wednesday, with investors beginning to anticipate a credit rating upgrade for Greece coming sooner rather than later.

The government has approved a project planned by listed group Viohalco for the creation of a cluster for culture, recreation and accommodation on a plot of 65,000-70,000 square meters at Elaionas, west of central Athens. It forms part of a set of four investment projects that a committee of ministers approved this week, adding up to some 800 million euros.

Stocks continued to decline on Tuesday at Athinon Avenue, as pressure grew, mainly on bank stocks, before easing during the closing auctions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 861.50 points, shedding 0.80 percent from Monday's 868.42 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.79 percent to 2,139.95 points, while small-caps increased 0.22 percent.