Folli

Shares in Public Power Corporation soared 15.69 percent on Wednesday, and along with ADMIE Holdings' 5.09 percent rise powered the benchmark of the Greek bourse to another day of significant gains, with daily turnover remaining above the 100-million-euro mark. This time banks were mere also-rans in a session dominated by energy stocks.

In its last session before the Christmas break, the benchmark of the Greek bourse topped 800 points in the closing auctions, on a day dominated by packages concerning stakes in National Bank, Eurobank and OTE.

Wednesday's sixth consecutive session of gains for the benchmark of the Athens stock market took it to a new three-month high, on respectable turnover and significant gains for the majority of blue chips, including banks.

The drop in Greek bond yields and window dressing efforts in the approach to year-end contributed to a healthy rise in stock prices at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, while two package transactions for Eurobank and Grivalia Properties sent trading volume soaring.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse posted a decline for a third session in a row on Wednesday despite the slight rise of the banks index and the healthy gains of small-caps. The local market apparently does not share the optimism of debt traders who sent bond and treasury-bill yields even lower on Wednesday.

Investors gave a thumbs-up on Tuesday to news that notaries had ended their boycott of property auctions, as Greek bank stocks jumped 4.25 percent at Athinon Avenue. However, the rest of the market didn't see much of a knock-on effect.

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.

Wednesday's session at the Greek bourse was almost identical to Tuesday's, with moderate losses for the majority of stocks, with trading volume remaining below 40 million euros and investors playing the waiting game.

The sixth consecutive week of losses ended on the Greek bourse yesterday with a mixed performance on Friday. The benchmark had not seen six straight weeks of decline in three years.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 745.55 points, adding 0.10 percent to Thursday's 744.80 points. On a weekly basis it slumped 1.33 percent.

The reaction of investors to the drop in stock prices on the Greek bourse in recent days wasn't strong enough to offer any optimism in the medium term, but it did halt the losing streaks of both the benchmark and the banks indices on Tuesday.