FTSE

Greek stocks went with the flow of international markets again on Friday, suffering fresh losses that brought the benchmark's decline over the week to more than 5 percent. It is estimated that the capitalization of local stocks has shrunk by over 3 billion euros in the last few sessions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 841.38 points on Thursday, shedding 1.01 percent from Wednesday's 849.94 points, as investors appeared distracted by the seven-year bond issue and concerned by the fresh drop on foreign markets.

The large-cap FTSE-25 index fell 1.14 percent to 2,133 points and the banks index lost 2.06 percent.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 841.38 points on Thursday, shedding 1.01 percent from Wednesday's 849.94 points, as investors appeared distracted by the seven-year bond issue and concerned by the fresh drop on foreign markets.

The large-cap FTSE-25 index fell 1.14 percent to 2,133 points and the banks index lost 2.06 percent.

Following the trend set by global markets since late on Tuesday, buyers in Athens took advantage of the benchmark's three-day decline on Wedneday, allowing Greek stocks to recover some lost ground. However, trading volume was considerably lower than in the last few sessions.

The massive sell-offs seen on global markets, the euro's drop against other major currencies, the postponement of the seven-year bond issue, and the growing sense that the Greek government is not as stable as had been thought inflicted major losses on local stocks on Tuesday that were eventually contained toward the end of the session.

The declines seen on international markets and the prospect of the seven-year sovereign debt issue, which has resulted in investors shifting their focus away from stocks, led to a session of considerable losses at Athinon Avenue on Monday.

The Greek bourse saw stocks head lower on Friday as a result of pressure on international securities markets over the last couple of days. Trading volume was the lowest in the last four sessions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 875.38 points, shedding 1.25 percent from Thursday's 886.44 points, but on a weekly basis it slipped just 0.31 percent.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse yo-yoed on Thursday, with early gains wiped out before the closing auctions saw a fresh surge, taking the main index - and the majority of local stocks - higher on increased turnover.

The stress test parameters, which are more conducive to optimism than those of 2015, gave bank stocks a boost in Wednesday's trading session at Athinon Avenue, taking the benchmark's total gains for January to 9.53 percent - its best monthly performance in 20 months.

Jitters ahead of the beginning of the bank stress tests today and the decline seen across eurozone markets led the Greek bourse to losses of more than 2 percent on Tuesday, with the credit sector taking a heavy beating.