Terna

Turnover on the Greek stock market was particularly low on Thursday owing to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. The benchmark, the blue chip index and banks registered marginal losses although the majority of stocks headed higher.

As the market awaits the formal announcement of the new composition of the MSCI stock indexes on Tuesday, pressure on most blue chips - especially those in the credit sector - led the benchmark at Athinon Avenue lower on Monday, with turnover climbing above 50 million euros.

Banks and the majority of stocks ended the session on Thursday with losses, but the benchmark managed to close virtually unchanged thanks to support from a handful of blue chips.

A decision by the European Court of Justice banning companies convicted of cartel practices from undertaking state contracts for at least three years has dealt a major blow to the local public works market.

Closing auctions on the Greek stock market helped minimize the rather sizable losses sustained by the benchmark at the start of the trading week on Monday, with bank stocks remaining the focus of sellers due to speculation concerning the exclusion of some of them from the MSCI Standard index for emerging markets.

Daily turnover on the Greek stock market was the lowest in eight sessions on Tuesday, while both the benchmark and the blue chip index lost ground in line with the downbeat mood on stock markets abroad.

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.

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.