FTSE

The benchmark of the Greek stock market continued its northbound course for a seventh day on Thursday, as buyers made their presence felt in the latter half of the session, taking the main index's gains to over 7 percent since December 12.

Wednesday's sixth consecutive session of gains for the benchmark of the Athens stock market took it to a new three-month high, on respectable turnover and significant gains for the majority of blue chips, including banks.

A late surge by Greek stocks on Tuesday offset the losses racked up earlier in the session, leaving a balanced picture at the end of trade as the benchmark rose for a fifth session in a row. However, the continued slide in trading volume has dimmed the prospects of a "year-end rally."

Energy and banking stocks led the Greek bourse to another day of gains on Monday, with December shaping up to be one of the year's most profitable months at Athinon Avenue. This was the fourth consecutive session of growth for the benchmark, although turnover was significantly lower than on Friday.

The continued drop in sovereign bond yields and the growing effort to dress up portfolios before year-end saw the majority of stocks chalking up more gains on Friday, when trading surpassed the 100-million-euro mark for a second day. The banks index has now covered all of this year's losses.

The drop in Greek bond yields and window dressing efforts in the approach to year-end contributed to a healthy rise in stock prices at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, while two package transactions for Eurobank and Grivalia Properties sent trading volume soaring.

In a perfectly balanced trading session at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday, stocks were split down the middle between winners and losers, with the benchmark remaining rudderless.

Technical changes and glitches and the payment of dividends contributed to a peculiar session at the Greek stock exchange on Monday, with mixed results and reduced turnover at the start of the week leading up to the December triple witching.

As the year starts to draw to a close many funds have either stopped trading their securities or are engaging in some window dressing, boosting their performance. This serves to explain the growth seen on the local bourse on Friday, after progress in the third review had already been priced in.

The main index of the Greek bourse stopped its southward course on Thursday - but only just - in a mixed session with low trading volume and the majority of stocks (including banks) heading lower.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 728.76 points, adding 0.17 percent to Wednesday's 727.53 points.