Athens Exchange

The Greek bourse wrapped up another week of gains on Friday, with the benchmark at a nine-month high. Still, trading volume eased and the positive momentum appears to have slowed.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 765.67 points, adding 0.20 percent to Thursday's 764.13 points. It rose for a third consecutive week, by 1.49 percent.

The benchmark at Athinon Avenue climbed to a high unseen in almost nine months on Thursday thanks to the return of buyers and the continuing decline of yields on Greek sovereign bonds. A coalition of bank stocks and other blue chips helped the index to healthy gains on the highest daily turnover in the last 27 sessions.

The Greek stock market remained split between winners and losers on Wednesday, with blue chips enjoying a day of gains and mid-caps suffering mild losses while turnover remained at a satisfactory level. It appears the market is now awaiting Standard & Poor's verdict on Greece in 15 days' time.

Tuesday's session at the Greek bourse saw bank stocks record gains and mid-caps post losses. The benchmark ended slightly lower, with blue chips registering minimal growth and the majority of stocks ending in the red. Daily turnover was markedly improved on the start of the week.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse ended Monday's session close to last Friday's eight-month high as traders' efforts to cash in recent gains met the resistance of certain blue chips that refused to yield ground. This resulted in a mixed picture on the board, with gainers outnumbering losers at the end of trade.

The Greek bourse continues to go from strength to strength, with its benchmark recording another eight-month high on Friday, boosted by the performance of bank stocks as well as the continued drop of the yield on Greek state bond ahead of a possible new issue. The Eurogroup decision mattered little for traders, as they had already factored it in earlier in the week.

The country's four systemic banks issued loans of 11 billion euros to corporations and households in 2018, expanding their credit not only to major enterprises but also those with an annual turnover of below 2.5 million euros.

Bank stocks' recent gains were bound to lead to profit taking at some point. That point came on Thursday, but barely affected the rest of the market, as mid-caps and small-caps headed higher to split the board between winners and losers.

The expected approval of a 1-billion-euro disbursement to Athens by Friday's Eurogroup, after Wednesday's favorable European Commission report, secured further gains for the majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue, which was accompanied by the continuing decline of Greek bond yields. The stock benchmark climbed to its highest level in almost eight months, just short of 750 points.

The Athens stock market managed to remain on a rising course on Tuesday, on presentable trading volume, although stocks painted a mixed picture and the banks index headed lower. Traders were very selective, opting to cash in recent bank stock gains while buying into other blue chips and mid-caps.