Athens Exchange

The Greek bourse benchmark climbed on Friday to highs unseen in almost nine months - i.e. throughout the time of the pandemic in Greece - boosted by aspirations for a strong recovery next year when the vaccines arrive. This was the fourth consecutive week of gains for the local market, which has recovered a large share of the losses incurred over the year.

The Greek stock market appears determined to stretch its November momentum through to the end of the month, as it enjoyed significant gains on Thursday that took its benchmark to a new eight-month high.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 726.92 points, adding 3.08% to Wednesday's 705.21 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 3.34% to close at 1,725.52 points.

Alpha Bank, one of Greece's four largest banks, on Wednesday reported a drop in third-quarter profit compared to the previous quarter on weaker net interest income.

Alpha, 11 percent owned by the country's bank rescue fund HFSF, reported a net profit from continued operations of 43.8 million euros, versus €97.5 million in the second quarter.

Bank stocks and the rest of the Greek stock market appeared to be in two parallel universes on Wednesday, as the former suffered losses after days of growth, while the vast majority of listed companies enjoyed gains for another day, taking the benchmark higher.

The international buying spree that on Tuesday took the Dow Jones over 30,000 points in New York contributed to the Greek bourse's main index holding its ground and putting some distance between it and the 700-point mark, despite the profit-taking recorded by most bank stocks.

The small gains secured on Monday by the ATHEX benchmark sufficed for it to clear the 700-point bar for the second time within the space of just a few days, in a session dominated by announcements about the Aegean Air share capital increase and the JP Morgan report that contained previous estimates of a stock price rise.

Piraeus Bank, one of Greece's four largest banks, on Monday reported a sharp drop in third-quarter profit compared with the previous quarter on the back of higher loan impairment provisions and weaker trading income.

he Athens Stock Exchange finally aligned itself with the positive turn on the European markets Tuesday, as it rebounded from Monday's significant losses to close 1.47% higher.

This rebound was achieved on very low turnover, which dropped below €30 million, a clear indication of investors' reluctance to see an upside.

World markets were upbeat on Tuesday, following the announcement of bolstering measures by the central banks of the US and Japan, while expectations for an economic rebound starting in the second half of the year added to global stocks' upward swing. In Greece, Athinon Avenue enjoyed a day of significant gains that rose over the course of the day across the board.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market resisted heading south on Monday despite spending most of the day in the red and seeing its eurozone peers suffer losses. A late rally offset all of the day's losses, although the blue-chip and the mid-cap indexes ended with a small decline and turnover remained at low levels.