ADMIE

Blue chips got off to a good start on Monday morning in Athens, but the bulk of those gains had evaporated by the end of trade and the majority of stocks ended up in negative territory.

Developments in the banking sector, mainly regarding nonperforming loans, gave bank stocks at Athinon Avenue a significant boost on Tuesday as buyers made a comeback, bolstering the bourse benchmark in the process and taking daily turnover back above the 50-million-euro level.

Investors appeared uninspired in what was a fairly quiet session at the Greek stock market on Thursday, with the few traders that could be bothered making select purchases. This took turnover back below the 50-million-euro mark while the benchmark kept to a very narrow range.

Greek stocks recorded moderate losses on Friday at the end of a week of minor gains, with turnover only just topping 50 million euros. It followed a session of significant growth on Thursday, which on Friday led to some traders cashing in their earnings.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse jumped 20 points on Thursday after a sudden buying spree by traders that saw banks earn almost 4 percent. The favorable climate on foreign markets and the continuing decline of Greek bond yields appear to have convinced investors to buy back into local stocks again.

The Greek stock market benchmark ended its four-session rising streak on Monday, as the major surge in the Public Power Corporation's stock price was not enough to avert the slide in the main index that was largely brought on by anticipated profit taking by traders.

The installation of an underwater high-voltage electricity cable connecting the Peloponnese to the mainland across the Rio-Antirrio straits in western Greece was completed on Monday.

Just when the Greek Energy Minister thought he could take a short August break, after a hectic first 30 days of the Mitsotakis administration, a stern warning from Brussels has exposed the wavering attitude that Athens has chosen by succumbing to pressure from the Chinese-controlled transmission system operator ADMIE over the Attica-Crete subsea electricity cable.

Major players in the electric cable construction sector have shown an interest in bidding for the Athens-Crete power connection, a 1-billion-euro project expected to be completed by 2022, according to Ariadne Interconnection, a special purpose subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) which administers the project.

The new government's strategic plan for streamlining and restructuring Public Power Corporation will start with the part-privatization of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE).