Athens Stock Exchange

Trade was subdued in the week's first session at the Athens bourse, given the benchmark's repeated failures last week to clear the 770-point mark and the slashing of bank stocks' target prices by Bank of America on Monday.

After a volatile trading session in Athens on Friday, the main index of the Greek stock market closed up slightly while the banks index ended in the red. Stocks were split between winners and losers as the market failed to sustain the growth momentum seen earlier in the week.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse fell back into negative territory on Thursday as the banks index took a 2.90 percent dive.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 762.49 points, shedding 0.60 percent from Wednesday's 767.07 points. The large-cap FTSE-26 index contracted 0.62 percent to close at 2,003.61 points.

Stock prices at Athinon Avenue remained on a rising course on Wednesday, albeit at a slower pace than Tuesday. Banks again led the way in growth and trading activity, with the four systemic lenders accounting for 57 percent of turnover.

A sudden jump in stock prices at the Greek bourse on Tuesday wiped out all of October's losses for the benchmark and even gave it a 0.49 percent increase right at the end of the month, compared to September 30.

The slight uptick of the Athens bourse benchmark on Monday was likely just a blip and should not be viewed as a sign of price growth to come, especially given that it also came on the lowest daily trading volume seen in two months, as the market continues to await direction.

The early gains seen during on Thursday's bourse session at Athinon Avenue had largely evaporated by the end of trade, with the benchmark closing slightly up on the day.

A major slump in Greek bank stocks on Monday - exceeding 5 percent - illustrated that foreign portfolios are pulling out of the local market in droves.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 734.52 points, shedding 1.96 percent from Friday's 749.23 points. The large-cap FTSE-26 index contracted 1.77 percent to close at 1,940.51 points.

While most international stock markets are experiencing big gains and historic highs, the Athens bourse remains stagnant as the Greek economy has yet to rid itself of lingering uncertainties and political obstacles. Consequently the trading week at Athinon Avenue ended with weekly losses of 1.59 percent while the banks index fell 5.13 percent.

Greek stocks took a dive on Thursday, led by the credit sector, after a Bloomberg report suggested that banks will have to be even more aggressive in the reduction of their bad-loan backlog.