FTSE

Despite the hour-long interruption to Tuesday's trading session due to a technical failure, bank stocks staged an impressive rebound of more than 12%, taking the benchmark at Athinon Avenue to fresh gains. The international climate continues to improve as hopes for a coronavirus vaccine keep growing, helping turnover in the local market to recover.

On a day when Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange remained closed, the Greek bourse secured a rather satisfactory turnover of almost 50 million euros on Monday, with traders opting to position themselves ahead of this Friday's upcoming index rebalancing. Leading the benchmark to strong gains were bank stocks, which were oversold in previous sessions.

Banking and energy stocks boosted the Greek bourse on the last day of this week, although the benchmark ended up holding onto just a fraction of the gains it had recorded before the closing auctions. Even so its consolidation well above the 600-point mark is a positive omen ahead of next week.

The Greek securities markets are showing a shift from stocks to bonds, as confidence in the state's solvency is growing while the private sector is facing multiple problems. On the same day the benchmark of Athinon Avenue suffered minor losses and banks dipped to new lows, the Greek 10-year bond continued its rally, with its yield dropping to 1.73% on Thursday.

The majority of stock prices recovered from early lows on Wednesday to end the session with gains. However, banks failed to stage a recovery, as buyers appeared more interested in specific blue chips outside the credit sector, such as energy stocks. 

Bank stocks led the Greek bourse lower on Tuesday, in line with most European markets, as traders chose to cash in the gains recorded in the last couple of sessions at Athinon Avenue. The market is now awaiting Wednesday's new package of measures aimed at restarting the economy.

Greek traders seemed to respond to the heat wave on Monday, swimming well in shallow waters, as the local stock market posted significant gains on very limited turnover. Banks and a few select blue chips led the way, as international markets were boosted by news of a possible breakthrough in terms of a coronavirus vaccine.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market ended every session this week below the 600-point mark, as Friday's gains - largely driven by Wall Street's healthy rise on Thursday - were contained toward the end of the session.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 593.26 points, adding 0.87% to Thursday's 588.12 points. On a weekly basis it declined 1.79%.

Bank stocks came under fresh pressure on Thursday, with the benchmark yielding more ground at the close despite spending some time in the black during the day. Global pessimism regarding the economy and the World Health Organization's statement that the coronavirus may never go away weighed on most markets, with Athinon Avenue proving to be no exception.

Credit sector stocks led the benchmark of the Greek bourse further below the 600-point mark on Wednesday. It followed the relegation of the domestic banks' outlook from positive to stable by Moody's, and the restructuring of the MSCI index, which also sent trading volume to its highest point in 15 sessions.