FTSE

The June triple-witching, the FTSE index rebalancing and the concern generated among banks by the forced transfer of 7 billion euros of state entity reserves to the Bank of Greece saw bank stocks slump at the end of the week, which weighed heavily on the benchmark at Athinon Avenue.

Unfazed by the domestic turmoil over the controversial agreement between Athens and Skopje and the no-confidence motion against the government, investors sent local stocks higher for a third day on Thursday, with turnover matching Wednesday's.

After an initial drop banks enjoyed robust gains on Wednesday, leading the benchmark of the Greek stock market higher. The trigger for the second consecutive day of gains was the prospect of an agreement at next week's Eurogroup.

Despite strong growth in the morning thanks to the prospects of agreements on debt relief and the name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Greek stock market only registered moderate gains at the end of Tuesday's trading. However, the benchmark put an end to its four-session losing streak.

The Greek benchmark bond yield may have eased to 4.51 percent on Monday, but the continued problems related to Folli Follie that have now also spread to the privatization process of Ethniki Insurance with the withdrawal of Folli Follie stakeholder Fosun pushed local stock prices further south.

The question of the International Monetary Fund's participation in the Greek program - right at its very end - remains open, and the local market is eagerly awaiting developments in this direction. As a result there was very little action on Thursday at the Athens Exchange (ATHEX).

Fresh concerns over Italy weighed on most European stock markets on Wednesday, leading to losses of over 1 percent for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue, on particularly low turnover. The ongoing saga concerning Folli Follie is not helping the local market at all, and a prosecutor launched an investigation into the case on Wednesday.

Greek stocks continued their ascent for a fifth day in a row on Tuesday, as the international climate turned more favorable, although trading volume remains at particularly low levels more reminiscent of August than June.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) started the week with a particularly quiet session, featuring low trading volume and mild gains for the majority of stocks.

The ATHEX general index ended at 778.57 points, adding 0.23 percent to Friday's 776.77 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.16 percent to 2,047.58 points.

The appointment of new prime ministers in Rome and Madrid appeared to generate relief - if not euphoria - in Mediterranean money markets, leading to major gains for the majority of stocks in Athens on Friday. The banks index outperformed with a one-day jump of 6.50 percent.