FTSE/Athex Large Cap

Developments in the banking sector, mainly regarding nonperforming loans, gave bank stocks at Athinon Avenue a significant boost on Tuesday as buyers made a comeback, bolstering the bourse benchmark in the process and taking daily turnover back above the 50-million-euro level.

Greek stocks retained on Monday their southbound course set last week, with the benchmark losing just over 1 percent and trading volume remaining low, following the warning by Moody's that the global economy appears headed toward a slowdown.

Bank stocks staged a full recovery on Thursday to take the benchmark higher for the first time this month, in line with the rise recorded in international markets. The credit sector closed near the day's high, although turnover was lower than in previous days.

The closing auctions once again determined the benchmark result after another mixed session at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday. At the end of the day the main index continued its quiet advance, possibly thanks to the positive outcome of the T-bill auction too, although turnover appears to be losing steam.

The banks index at Athinon Avenue on Thursday came off Wednesday's 14-month highs, but the closing auctions served to ensure the benchmark ended in the black despite losing stocks' clear lead over the climbers. The market appears to have already factored in a credit rating upgrade expected on Friday night by Standard & Poor's.

The Greek stock market benchmark edged marginally higher again on Thursday, but the increase in turnover did not translate into a significant advance for blue chips, as their index ended up in the red. Gains for small-caps, on the other hand, led to winners surpassing the losers at the end of the session.

The Greek bourse had another mixed day on Tuesday, with the market awaiting feedback from Brussels regarding the draft budget Athens has submitted, but in the end all indexes closed in the black thanks to a number of stocks posting firm gains.

The stock market's positive reaction to the European Commission's approval of the state's bad-loan reduction plan boosted bank stocks and helped the benchmark climb further during trading on Thursday at Athinon Avenue.

Investors appeared uninspired in what was a fairly quiet session at the Greek stock market on Thursday, with the few traders that could be bothered making select purchases. This took turnover back below the 50-million-euro mark while the benchmark kept to a very narrow range.

The Greek stock market shook off international concerns regarding oil prices and a US-Iran standoff and posted some healthy gains in the second half of the week's first session, on improved trading volume too.