FTSE/Athex Large Cap

With only one short session left till the end of the year - as stock trading will cease two hours early on Tuesday - the benchmark at Athinon Avenue remained on Monday close to the near-five-year highs registered on Friday.

A predictably quiet day on the Greek bourse on Friday ended at the highest point of the last 58 months as buyers proved quite active in the last hour-and-a-half of trading.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 920.54 points, adding 0.88 percent to Monday's 912.52 points, the highest since February 2015. On a weekly basis it advanced 3.19 percent.

Stocks suffered a day of losses at the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday, with just a handful of sessions left till the end of the year for traders to complete their window dressing, but the benchmark didn't lose all its weekly gains, posting an increase of 0.11 percent compared to the previous Friday.

The upcoming lifting of the cap on Greek bonds held by local banks not only boosted state bonds and credit sector stocks in Athens on Wednesday but also the benchmark at Athinon Avenue, which climbed to highs unseen since February 2015, while turnover continued to rise.

The stocks of former state companies gave the main index of the Greek bourse a major push on Tuesday while the banks' index stayed put. The benchmark rebounded within range of the 900-point level, with daily turnover rising above 100 million euros.

Blue chips got off to a good start on Monday morning in Athens, but the bulk of those gains had evaporated by the end of trade and the majority of stocks ended up in negative territory.

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.