GEK

Early profit-taking at Athinon Avenue gave way to a fresh wave of buying later on Thursday - although banks appeared to have fallen out of favor - taking the benchmark higher for the fifth session in a row. The market is now confidently looking toward more growth, boosted also by the significant increase in daily trading volumes.

The majority of stock prices recovered from early lows on Wednesday to end the session with gains. However, banks failed to stage a recovery, as buyers appeared more interested in specific blue chips outside the credit sector, such as energy stocks. 

The benchmark of the Greek stock market ended every session this week below the 600-point mark, as Friday's gains - largely driven by Wall Street's healthy rise on Thursday - were contained toward the end of the session.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 593.26 points, adding 0.87% to Thursday's 588.12 points. On a weekly basis it declined 1.79%.

The Greek bourse had a very quiet Friday, recording the lowest turnover since early March, as traders waited for the Eurogroup decision and Moody's verdict on Greece. The benchmark managed to stay afloat even though it ended on the day's low, with the blue chip index turning red.

After a mixed session with gains for most stocks and banks leading the losers, the benchmark at Athinon Avenue reported marginal growth on Thursday, based on corporate developments.

US casino operator Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment said on Monday it remains fully committed to opening a luxury casino resort in Athens as part of an 8 billion euro ($8.74 billion) redevelopment project despite the impact of the coronavirus.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market rose to a seven-week high on Tuesday as it continued its recovery in tandem with the easing of restrictions on economic activity announced. It appears the market will continue to ebb and flow according to the course of the pandemic even after the end of the lockdown next week.

The Greek economy avoided a credit rating downgrade on Friday, as Fitch, DBRS Morningstar and Standard & Poor's only reduced its outlook from "positive" to "stable," which investors greeted by sending Greek stocks higher on Monday, although trading volume remained low.

Despite Wednesday's early gains at Athinon Avenue, in line with most eurozone bourses, the session ended with a relatively small increase on particularly low daily turnover, which points to the market's reservations about the economy's emergence from the coronavirus crisis, especially as far as the creation of new nonperforming loans for Greek lenders is concerned.

The dramatic slide in oil rates and some negative corporate developments, including QCM's report on Greek Nasdaq-listed firm Akazoo, saw local stocks heading south at the beginning of the week, with the credit sector losing more than 10 percent in a day.