Athens Exchange

Traders who decided to cash in Monday and Tuesday's gains at the start of Wednesday's session were met with the resistance of sellers who refused to let the blue chips slip, leading to a mixed picture at the end of the day at Athinon Avenue.
Turnover came to a satisfactory level, though not as high as that seen at the start of the week.

The MSCI Standard Greece index rebalancing, with the return to its ranks of National Bank, and the continued euphoria from political developments in Athens saw the Greek bourse extend its gains on Tuesday and double Monday's daily turnover, as positive reviews from foreign firms and agencies poured in following the announcement of a snap election.

The Athens bourse welcomed the results of Sunday's elections and the announcement of a snap poll on Monday. The benchmark jumped more than 6 percent, its best daily showing in almost four years, and turnover was triple Friday's.

The Greek security markets have greeted with enthusiasm the European and regional election results on Sunday and the calling of a snap general election in late June, as on Monday morning stock prices are soaring in the Athens bourse and the Greek bond yields are diminishing rapidly.

Prominent Greek banker Giorgos Michelis, who was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Attica Bank in late March, died on Saturday at the age of 69.

Michelis had many years of banking experience having served as CEO of Bancpost, a subsidiary of Greece's Eurobank in Romania, general manager of Emporiki Bank and executive vice president and chief operating officer at Egnatia Bank.

Public Power Corporation and Piraeus Bank helped the benchmark of the Greek bourse recover on Friday, which sufficed to swing the weekly losses into gains. However, turnover reverted to low levels as the market clearly is in anticipation of the election results, not only in Greece but also in the rest of the European Union.

The 390-million-euro sale of a National Bank stake in NBG Pangaea to Invel dominated Thursday's bourse session, which saw the majority of stocks end lower.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 725.56 points, shedding 0.81 percent from Wednesday's 731.49 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.69 percent to 1,884.37 points.

Eurobank's stock accounted for almost three-quarters of trading at the Greek bourse on Wednesday ahead of the lender's return today to the MSCI Standard Greece Index. Still, Eurobank ended lower, as did the benchmark.

The surprise announcement of the earlier inclusion of Eurobank in the MSCI Standard Greece Index gave a boost not only to the lender's stock but also the whole bourse on Tuesday, leading the benchmark to major gains and turnover to its highest level in 50 sessions - just a whisker away from 100 million euros.

Coca-Cola HBC and National Bank suffered significant losses in Monday's bourse session at Athinon Avenue, which saw its benchmark begin the election week with a drop that is incongruous with the wait-and-see attitude usually adopted by investors during such periods.