Viohalco

The main index at Athinon Avenue edged even closer to the elusive milestone of 900 points on Tuesday, with positive reports fueling the growth of bank stock prices and other blue chips.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 893.37 points, adding 0.57 percent to Monday's 888.29 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.42 percent to 2,232.79 points.

The Greek bourse index came off a four-month high on Friday as traders cashed in some of this week's gains, European stock markets appeared reserved and Greek bond yields continued their ascent to top 1.50 percentage points.

The Greek stock market enjoyed a day of solid gains on Thursday, with banks and Coca-Cola recording considerable growth and trading volume confirming that Athinon Avenue enjoyed wider investor interest than usual. Thursday's growth added a remarkable 1.2 billion euros to the bourse's capitalization.

The Brexit limbo that affected most eurozone stock markets on Wednesday was largely offset in Athens by optimism in the local credit sector and the continued decline of Greek bond yields, leaving the main index at Athinon Avenue largely unchanged, while the banks index climbed to levels unseen in 14 months.

The Greek bourse benchmark is steadily approaching the 900-point mark after its advance on Tuesday on considerably increased turnover, mainly thanks to the further decline of Greek bond yields ahead of anticipated credit rating upgrades.

The Greek stock market benchmark edged marginally higher again on Thursday, but the increase in turnover did not translate into a significant advance for blue chips, as their index ended up in the red. Gains for small-caps, on the other hand, led to winners surpassing the losers at the end of the session.

The treasury bill issue that recorded a negative yield for the first time in Greece's history dominated trading at the local stock market on Wednesday, with investors beginning to anticipate a credit rating upgrade for Greece coming sooner rather than later.

The Athens bourse played second fiddle to the Greek bond market on Tuesday, but buyers returned when the benchmark hit a low of 818 points - after the bond's book closed - and by the closing bell the main index's losses had halved.

Stocks continued to decline on Tuesday at Athinon Avenue, as pressure grew, mainly on bank stocks, before easing during the closing auctions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 861.50 points, shedding 0.80 percent from Monday's 868.42 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.79 percent to 2,139.95 points, while small-caps increased 0.22 percent.

Bank stocks led blue chips and the main index of the Greek bourse higher on Tuesday, but smaller stocks recorded minor losses as traders appear to be gradually losing interest in them.