Viohalco

The closing auctions saved the day for the Greek stock market's benchmark once again on Friday, leading to the highest daily turnover in 30 sessions. The banks index also ended its six-day losing streak, during which it had shrunk by almost 20 percent.

The slight recovery of stock prices during the closing auctions on Thursday did not suffice to offset the losses of the Athens benchmark, which ended almost 1 percent lower. Banks were at the focus of selling interest again.

Stocks at Athinon Avenue rallied toward the end of the session on Wednesday for a third day in a row, offseting most of their losses. A slight majority of stocks ended up lower and banks continued to slide, while the benchmark closed virtually unchanged and mid-caps recorded small gains.

Etem Bulgaria will separate the production of extruded aluminum profiles and their further processing in two separate subsidiaries. The decision was taken by Belgian Viohalco, the owner of Etem. The two new ventures will be joined by Gestamp, a leading global group specializing in the design, development and production of metal components and systems for the automotive industry.

The rising streak on the Greek bourse was interrupted on Thursday by profit-taking from investors, who led the benchmark and blue chips south after five sessions of growth, although mid- and small-caps enjoyed gains.

The non-bank blue chips kept the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) benchmark afloat on Thursday, in spite of the significant decline seen the previous day in the US market and pressure on bank stocks. Turnover improved slightly and stocks were split down the middle between winners and losers.

Greek stocks lost all the gains registered earlier in the day and then some, completing a sixth consecutive southbound session for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday.

Thursday's drop at the Athens stock exchange (ATHEX) was quite tame compared to losses recorded in most other European markets - and considering the slide in Greek bond prices.

The ATHEX general index ended at 652.04 points, shedding 0.74 percent from Wednesday's 656.92 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.92 percent to 1,705.11 points.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market posted its biggest daily rise in two-and-a-half years on Monday, riding on a wave of international relief resulting from the truce in the Sino-American trade war while dismissing any concern about the rebalancing of the MSCI index.

Oversold bank stocks staged a remarkable rebound in Thursday's bourse session, with Alpha and National announcing a return to profit in July-September at the end of the trading day. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) was also buoyed by rallying international markets, the drop in Greek bond yields and a favorable report by Moody's on the Bank of Greece proposal for slashing bad loans.