FTSE

Turnover struggled to top 20 million euros on Wednesday at Athinon Avenue, as on top of the recent stagnation in local trading, the US Independence Day holiday deprived the Greek stock market of some of the few remaining foreign traders. As a result the benchmark headed south again, while the banks index dropped for a sixth time in the last seven sessions.

The lowest daily turnover of the year at the Greek stock exchange confirmed more than just the beginning of the summer holiday in Athens on Monday; far from emerging from the crisis era, Athinon Avenue still appears to be a shallow market swayed by a few speculative moves. The benchmark at the day's low wiped out all of Friday's gains.

The significant gains posted by the majority of Greek stocks on Friday offset all the benchmark's losses in June, granting it a small monthly rise of 0.23 percent instead. However, a drop of 5.58 percent was recorded over the first half of the year.

The payment of stock dividends at Athinon Avenue, the negative climate on international markets and the increasing devaluation of the market (through the ongoing Folli Follie saga and the loss of buying interest in mid- and small-caps), led to significant losses for the majority of Greek stocks on Thursday.

There was little movement on the local stock exchange on Wednesday as the rises registered by most European markets and the decline of the Greek benchmark bond's yield failed to impress traders. With two sessions left till the end of the year's first half, banks continued to lose ground. The credit sector's stocks have returned to prices below those of their last recapitalization.

The earlier-than-expected upgrade of Greece's credit rating by Standard & Poor's did not impress traders at the Athens stock exchange, who appeared to be more concerned about instability both within and outside the country. The majority of Greek stocks posted fresh losses at the end of Tuesday's session, while many blue chips closed at the day's low.

The early gains observed during trading on Friday in Athens had all been cashed in by the end of the session as investors seemed to have factored in the outcome of the Eurogroup in Luxembourg and were not as impressed as bond buyers. The closing auctions brought most indexes down to their day-low, with PPC also weighing on the benchmark, but this time turnover topped 80 million euros.

The Athens bourse spent almost the entire session on Wednesday showing benchmark and blue-chip gains, only for sellers to reverse the trend in the closing auctions, wiping out the advances. Nevertheless, growing stocks outnumbered decliners.

The Greek stock market tried to distinguish itself from its European peers, concerned about a trade war across the Atlantic, but eventually ended Tuesday with losses for the majority of its stocks. while traders are still keeping an eye on Thursday's Eurogroup.

Bank stocks recovered on Monday from a sharp drop last Friday, with their advance gathering pace as the week's first session progressed, helped also by the decline of Greek bond yields. Low turnover is explained by anticipation for Thursday's crucial Eurogroup.