Viohalco

A late rally by bank stocks on the Athens bourse broke the credit sector's three-session slide on Tuesday, while most stocks registered moderate gains at the end of trade.

Many traders have evidently left for their summer vacations, as turnover at the Greek bourse was particularly low on Friday, but those left behind at Athinon Avenue nudged the benchmark higher at the end of the week on a day of mild growth for most blue chips.

The Greek bourse ended July with a monthly decline of 1.40 percent for its benchmark, mainly due to the drop recorded on Monday that was led by bank stocks. Tuesday's session is seen as crucial because a lack of reaction by buyers will signify a further drop in the medium term.

Unfazed or perhaps distracted by the issue of the five-year sovereign bond, investors weren't in much of a buying mood at the Greek stock market on Tuesday. The benchmark fell to its lowest point in the last 12 sessions on relatively increased trading volume.

The Greek bourse had already priced in the issue of a five-year bond, so there was little reaction on the part of investors on Monday. A brief uptick in trade during the closing auctions proved enough to push the benchmark into positive territory and reverse losses for the banks index.

As signs had shown on Monday, stocks on the Greek bourse confirmed on Tuesday that they have run out of steam - at least for the short term - suffering sizeable losses as the benchmark fell from a 28-month high. The quality of the drop points to it being more than a mere correction after the recent gains.

The Greek bourse's benchmark may have notched up more gains at the start of the week to reach a fresh 28-month high, but the hesitant investor moves throughout the day and the relatively low trading volume point to the market waiting for news about a bond issue by Athens and the likelihood that the recent rally may have come to an end.

Another session with plenty of action at the stock exchange on Wednesday saw the benchmark slip on the decline of mid-caps, although banks remained on a rising course. The closing auctions saw sellers outnumber buyers by a 10-to-one ratio.

A rise in bank stocks helped buoy the benchmark and the majority of stocks on the local bourse on Monday, but trading action continued its decline.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 843.83 points, a new 26-month high, adding 0.76 percent to Friday's 837.43 points. The large-cap FTSE-26 index expanded 0.58 percent to 2,182.42 points.

That Friday feeling and some not unexpected profit taking saw trading volume drop and many stock prices register a decline at the Athens bourse on Friday, at the end of another week of gains - the fourth in a row - for the benchmark.