ATHEX: Stock losses contained by end of session

After the four-day weekend the Greek bourse reopened on Tuesday in pretty much the same fashion as it ended last week, with early losses contained in the closing auctions - propped up largely by bank stocks - while turnover dropped to holiday season levels at what was the start of a three-day trading week.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 779.45 points, shedding 0.13 percent from Thursday's 780.50 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.19 percent to 2,023.63 points while mid-caps slumped 2.12 percent.

The banks index staged an impressive recovery, adding 1.98 percent on the day. Eurobank led the way with a 4.23 percent jump, National increased 2.91 percent and Alpha improved 0.87 percent. Piraeus gave up 0.47 percent.

Non-bank blue chips took a beating, with OPAP sliding 3.12 percent, Lamda Development falling 2.19 percent, OTE telecom...