Athens Exchange

The second half of Wednesday's bourse session in Athens saw the return of buyers, who focused on certain blue chips like banks and oversold Public Power Corporation, but also Lamda Development and Mytilineos, on the back of important corporate developments.

Traders reacted to Monday's decline on Tuesday with a small rebound for most stocks, though the session at Athinon Avenue was clearly overshadowed by the state bond issue whose books opened half an hour before trading started on the bourse.

The Greek stock market was no exception to the rule in most eurozone bourses on Monday, where investor skittishness resulted in moderate losses and low trading volumes. Local traders may also be waiting for today to position themselves in the new seven-year Greek bond.

A mixed session at the bourse on Friday brought the first post-election week to a close with losses for the benchmark, while the market also used some of its cash availability to cover the bond issue by National Bank.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 858.33 points, shedding 0.58 percent from Thursday's 863.33 points. On a weekly basis it shrank 4.06 percent.

Despite a decline among banks, the vast majority of stocks ended up on the winning side on Thursday, with the benchmark advancing for a second day in a row, albeit marginally this time.

The Greek stock market recovered on Wednesday from a two-day sell-off that saw banks shed over 12 percent of their stock value, as the benchmark jumped back above the 860-point level, albeit on lower trading volume. The market appears quite volatile, in contrast to the months leading up to the May 26 European elections.

European slaps on Athens' wrist over handouts by the previous government that are seen endangering the budget's targets, inflicted extensive losses on Greek stocks on Tuesday, and came hand-in-hand with a rise in Greek bond yields. Sazka's public offering for OPAP shares it does not own did not help prices either.

Traders booked recent profits on Monday at Athinon Avenue, selling the confirmation of the government change in Athens, though the suspension of trading for the OPAP stock generated rumors and concerns about the course of one of Europe's biggest gaming companies.

The last week before the general election ended in the Greek bourse on Friday on yet another 53-month high, as Greek politics is about to experience a shift after 54 months of SYRIZA-led administration. Stocks were split between winners and losers and the blue-chip index was virtually unchanged.

PPC and bank stocks kept the benchmark afloat for a seventh straight day on Thursday, taking it to a 53-month high, with high turnover despite the US Independence Day holiday.