GEK Terna

State privatizations fund TAIPED and rail service operator Trainose signed the contract for the sale of 100 percent of railway carriage maintenance company Rosco on Monday.

Trainose, a 100 percent subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, will pay a price of 22 million euros.

Gains registered by bank stocks and Public Power Corporation spurred prices on Athinon Avenue on Monday, helped also by the recovery of most international markets, although the low turnover did not bode well for the rest of the week.

The new round of negotiations between the Greek government and the European Commission on the project to hook up Crete to the mainland's power grid has come to a total impasse. The issue in question concerns the rejection by Brussels of the project's direct concession to a subsidiary of state-owned grid operator ADMIE.

A statement of support by Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras got Greek stocks off to a positive start on Wednesday, but a Moody's report stressing how much of a challenge bad loans pose to Greek banks soured the mood again, leading the benchmark back into the red at the close.

The Greek benchmark ended lower on Wednesday due to the big losses registered by bank stocks along with fellow blue chips Public Power Corporation and Jumbo, with aggressive sellers sending the day's turnover above the 100-million-euro mark.

The closing auctions at the end of Monday's trading session in Athens wiped out all the gains registered over the course of the day and took the benchmark back into negative territory. Trading volume was very low as traders remain skeptical about the local market.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market saw a more convincing day of gains on Tuesday on slightly improved turnover. However, although bank stocks headed north for the third day in a row, the momentum will have to strengthen if they are to stage a full recovery.

The improvement in the mood on global markets along with the rise in the prices of Italian and Greek bonds and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's rather measured financial pledges at the Thessaloniki International Fair over the weekend - which appeased traders - led to a significant rebound of Greek stocks on Monday after a week and a half of constant decline for the benchmark.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market dipped to a new 17-month low on Wednesday as pressure continued not only on bank stocks but also across the blue chip board as well as on bond prices. A balancing session is probably due.

Turmoil in emerging markets caused by economic woes in Turkey and Argentina, and a strain on Greek bonds after Italian government paper came under selling pressure, pushed the Athens Exchange lower on Thursday.

The banking index was in negative territory throughout the session, despite HSBC's upgrade of the Greek sector to "buy."