FTSE

The slight recovery of stock prices during the closing auctions on Thursday did not suffice to offset the losses of the Athens benchmark, which ended almost 1 percent lower. Banks were at the focus of selling interest again.

Stocks at Athinon Avenue rallied toward the end of the session on Wednesday for a third day in a row, offseting most of their losses. A slight majority of stocks ended up lower and banks continued to slide, while the benchmark closed virtually unchanged and mid-caps recorded small gains.

In a trading session that bore close resemblance to that on Monday, stocks spent all day in the red on Tuesday, led by the credit sector, and with the benchmark's losses being contained during the closing auctions. The difference was that Tuesday's turnover was twice that seen on Monday.

The political turmoil in Greece and declines seen on other eurozone bourses weighed on the benchmark at the Greek stock market on Monday, although losses were reined in to less than 1 percent during the closing auctions. This was thanks to the help from non-bank blue chips that offset most of the impact from the banking sector drop.

The rising streak on the Greek bourse was interrupted on Thursday by profit-taking from investors, who led the benchmark and blue chips south after five sessions of growth, although mid- and small-caps enjoyed gains.

Bank stocks on Wednesday built on Tuesday's momentum to jump more than 5 percent on a day with a more respectable turnover at the local stock market. This was the fifth straight day of advance for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue, a record unseen in the last eight months.

Investor confidence appears to be returning gradually to local banks, with their stocks outperforming on Tuesday on the Athens bourse and the market's benchmark climbing for a fourth consecutive day - a performance unseen since October. Persistently low turnover shows that it only takes a handful of buyers to sway the market's course.

Stocks rose at Athinon Avenue for a third session in a row on Monday, contrary to the negative move recorded in most eurozone stock markets, but low turnover is making observers wary about the course of the week ahead.

Prices continued to rise over the course of the day on the Greek stock market on Friday, for the benchmark to close the three-session week with an increase that was just shy of 2 percent, even if that was on a holiday turnover level. The healthy gains were in line with the positive performance of most foreign markets.

The non-bank blue chips kept the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) benchmark afloat on Thursday, in spite of the significant decline seen the previous day in the US market and pressure on bank stocks. Turnover improved slightly and stocks were split down the middle between winners and losers.