FTSE/Athex Large Cap

The fourth consecutive day of gains at the Athens bourse gave the the benchmark its biggest advance as it climbed close to the 800-point mark, in line with most other markets that were open on Monday. Turnover topped 50 million euros despite the fact that major markets such as those of the US, Hong Kong and China were closed due to holidays.

The only way was up on Thursday for most banks after Wednesday's decline, with the credit sector (although not Piraeus Bank) carrying the rest of the stock market to significant gains - albeit not as impressive as some highs recorded during the course of the session. Turnover also headed higher - another encouraging sign.

Despite the significant decline of the banks index, other stocks at Athinon Avenue welcomed back buyers on Wednesday, with trading volume remaining just above the 50-million-euro mark after the MSCI index restructuring produced no surprises for listed companies. A bank rebound could fuel a further rise over the rest of the week.

The prospect of a new Attica lockdown sent the Greek bourse tumbling on Tuesday, with severe losses for banks and the majority of other stocks also heading south, erasing the gains of previous days. All but two blue chips headed lower, but the decline is seen as temporary and not structural.

Greece's stock market matched the picture on most other eurozone bourses on Monday with gains secured on relatively thin trade. The Greek market will try to benefit from the desire of certain investors to take some calculated risks as Europe tries to emerge from the health crisis and Italy is close to forming a new government.

The Greek bourse only held on to a fraction of its early gains on Friday, but that was enough to break its three-week losing streak and ensure this week came to a positive conclusion.

The Greek bourse followed on Tuesday in the footsteps left by major foreign markets over the last couple of days, taking its benchmark just over the 760-point mark, though banks had less to do with that growth than other blue chips. Turnover saw a marked improvement too.

Underperforming its European peers, Athinon Avenue was virtually flat at the end of the week's first session as it failed to catch the wave of gains observed in the rest of the eurozone, partly due to concerns about the course of the pandemic in Greece. Losing stocks narrowly edged out the gainers, but most indexes closed with slight growth.

Greek stocks staged a remarkable turnaround on Thursday, as they swapped losses for gains, boosted by the reversal of bank stocks' fortunes. This was mainly seen as a reaction to the recent decline of prices from the January 4 peak, and was implemented on the highest daily turnover so far this year.

The market's focus on the sovereign bond issue left the field wide open for sellers on the local bourse - and they took full advantage of it. Stocks suffered significant losses, again led by the bank sector. It had been expected by many that stocks were set to fall in Athens and the rest of Europe, due to rising concerns over vaccine supplies.