FTSE/Athex Large Cap

The Greek bourse ended its first losing week in more than a month after a mixed session that saw blue chips growing but the main index as well as the majority of stocks shrinking. A number of prearranged packages sent the daily turnover very high, though net trading was rather slow.

A number of blue chips, including banks, attracted significant buying interest at Athinon Avenue on Thursday, with the benchmark rebounding after two days of decline and closing near the day's highs. Still, the rest of the board saw little action, with considerably lower trading volume.

The statements by European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde about an upcoming easing of interest rates offset the adverse impact from the significant decline late at Wall Street on Tuesday, so the benchmark of the Greek stock market recorded only marginal losses on Wednesday.

Unfazed by the decline of the banks index and the majority of stocks, the main index of the Greek stock market started the week with its eighth consecutive session of growth to register yet another 10-year high. A profit-taking move now appears long overdue. The daily trading volume was predictably reduced, given the holiday in the US.

For a third day in a row, the Greek stock market's benchmark rose to new highs on Friday despite a decline in mid-caps and the majority of stocks. The main index at Athinon Avenue has therefore recorded yet another 10-year high in the face of profit-taking for most of the day's session. This seventh consecutive session of index gains had the lowest daily turnover of the week.

Thursday was a historic day for the Greek stock market, as the sixth consecutive day of growth for blue chips and the main index sent its benchmark to heights unseen in almost a decade. The new 10-year record for the bourse came without the support of mid-caps, which declined for a second day in a row. Banks more than made up for that, as they outperformed.

The fifth consecutive session of gains for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue took it to yet another five-month high on Wednesday, although the majority of stocks and the mid-cap index posted a decline. Banks pulled the blue-chip index higher to secure an extension of the growth that profit-takers will seek to capitalize.

Stocks at Athinon Avenue recorded yet another day of growth on Tuesday, with the benchmark rising for the fourth session in a row to reach a new five-month high. However, the banks index recorded an even more memorable feat, as it climbed to highs unseen in six-and-a-half years, boosted by successive reports pointing to upcoming profits and credit expansion.

A universal move upwards for stocks in the Greek bourse on Monday led the benchmark to major gains and the daily turnover well above the 100-million-euro mark. The main index has now climbed to levels unseen since the end of last July, while investors are also looking forward to the listing of Athens International Airport that the government has decided.

After Wednesday's respite, the benchmark of the Greek stock market reverted to its upward course on Thursday to record a new four-month high, vindicating a large portion of observers who believe that, after Greece regained its investment-level credit rating, the only way is up for stocks at Athinon Avenue. The daily turnover figure is also gradually recovering.