FTSE

The global swing from bonds to stocks appears to have benefited the Greek stock market at a time of geopolitical uncertainty on many fronts. This helped the benchmark of the local bourse climb to a new 13-year high on Thursday, with buying interest trickling down to lower capitalizations too, expanding market optimism.

Bank stock continued to grow at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, but other stocks bogged the benchmark down, preventing it from registering another 13-year high after Tuesday's record. Even the profit-taking effort by some traders proved short-lived and the favorable corporate news points to further gains in the days to come, barring any external concern.

On Tuesday Greek stocks followed the trend set by fellow eurozone markets on Monday (given the long weekend domestically), sending the benchmark of the local bourse to highs unseen since April 2011.

The Greek bourse reversed early losses on Friday to close with gains for the third session in a row, taking its benchmark to the highest point since last May. Notably, Athinon Avenue bucked the dominant trend on the day in markets on both sides of the Atlantic.

Athinon Avenue started 2025 on a positive note on Thursday, with technology and construction blue chips leading the way and an optimistic mood trickling down to mid- and small-caps as well.

One session before the end of the bourse year, the benchmark at Athinon Avenue closed on Monday with negligible losses after a mixed session that pointed to some of the most important stocks in the local market, such as Alpha Bank, Ellaktor and Terna Energy.

Construction group Ellaktor's decision to return 85 cents per share to shareholders galvanized the Greek stock market on Friday, after its three-day recess, and drove the benchmark higher despite the limited trading volume one would expect from the festive season anyway. Mid-caps actually outperformed, while banks lagged.

The Greek stock market closed for Christmas with banks dragging the benchmark lower, although the mid-cap index and the majority of stocks ended up with gains on Monday. Trading volume predictably declined, but remained significantly higher than on such a day in previous years.

The anticipated transaction of the package of shares in Terna Energy, with 14.6% changing hands eventually on the day, sent turnover soaring at the Greek stock market on Friday, accounting for two thirds of the day's action at Athinon Avenue.

Athinon Avenue ended Thursday with hardly any changes to its main indexes. The day started off with a decline, as the expected 25-basis point cut by the Fed on Wednesday was already priced in, while the caution the US central bank showed in its statement led markets to believe a more restrained year is looming, according to a PIMCO commentary.