Piraeus Port Authority

Despite the pressure on banks at the Greek bourse on Tuesday that looked as though it might drag the benchmark lower still, most of the rest of the market posted healthy gains that saw the main index come off a four-year low, on improved turnover too.

Athinon Avenue experienced a mixed day on Wednesday following a number of sessions during which trends were clear, with the benchmark showing moderate gains as the banks index lost some ground.

As work got under way on Piraeus Port Authority's (OLP) new cruise terminal on Tuesday, top officials of global cruise tourism giants Carnival and Royal Caribbean expressed confidence that it would reposition Greece's main port at the center of the Mediterranean cruise market.

Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) achieved an increase in both its turnover, by 12.3 percent, and net profits, by 27 percent, on a yearly basis in 2019, mainly thanks to growth in container handling at the second and third container terminals operated by Cosco subsidiary PCT. There was also a notable improvement in revenues from ship-repairs and cruise tourism.

After a particularly quiet session on the Greek bourse, with the lowest turnover of the last four-and-a-half months, the benchmark at Athinon Avenue ended its four-day rising streak on Monday with a slight decline, mainly due to the bank losses.

Global concerns over the expansion of China's coronavirus have taken a toll on international markets, with the Greek bourse again being no exception. Thursday's was the fourth consecutive session of losses, which so far this week have added up to 1.6 billion euros in capitalization.

The rise of Coca-Cola HBC's stock by 1.95 percent on Friday contained the Greek benchmark's losses somewhat and kept the blue chip index above water at the end of a week of small gains for the local market.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 923.63 points, shedding 0.26 percent from Thursday's 926.06 points. On a weekly basis it improved 0.38 percent.

Greek ports are expected to attract more cruise tourists following a rise of about 15 percent both in cruise liner calls and passenger arrivals in 2019, officials have told Xinhua.

Most stocks recorded moderate gains or got a bit of a breather following last Friday's decline in the first trading session after the long weekend, but it appears clear that any disruption will be more likely to come from developments abroad than domestic ones this year.

The new year started with another 58-month high for the Greek stock market benchmark on Thursday, showing that the local bourse's growth momentum remains strong even without the support of credit sector stocks.