Viohalco

Greek stocks edged higher for a third session in a row, taking the benchmark close to 1,200 points on Tuesday. However, that was not enough to prevent a negative result for October, which closed with monthly losses of 1.34% for the main index. That was the third consecutive month with a decline.

The Greek bourse has entered the week of major companies' third-quarter result announcements, and traders remained rather cautious on Monday, opting to heed the trend set by the rest of the European markets - i.e. slightly upward on reduced turnover. Mid-caps outperformed, with the majority of stocks securing gains at the start of the week.

Tuesday's session at Athinon Avenue was a one-stock show as it was the first day of trading for Alpha Bank after the major proposal tabled by UniCredit for the Greek lender's stake that bank bailout fund HFSF holds, and the merger of the Italian bank's operations in Romania with those of Alpha. As a result Alpha jumped 12.44%, while most other local stocks registered gains too.

Greek stocks suffered yet another slump on Thursday, with their losses growing as the day progressed, with floods in central Greece and the postponement of the prime minister's speech in Thessaloniki not helping stocks recover. Friday's DBRS Morningstar credit rating report on Greece could change all that.

September began at Athinon Avenue with concerns expressed by traders after the first hour related to the global economy and the fear of stagflation. That led the benchmark to losses of almost 1% and a drop below the 1,300-point mark on Friday.

The Athens Stock Exchange once again posted very slight gains, but at least the general index reversed four weeks of losses, posting a nearly 3% rise for the week.

The main index gained 0.30% Friday, closing at 1,299.76 points. Turnover was quite low, at €59.6 million. Blue chips gained 0.21% and small-caps 0.43%, while banks lost 0.98%.

The stock market could not hold on to early gains Wednesday after deteriorating Purchase Managers' Index (PMI) numbers soured the mood in European markets.

The general index closed at 1,293.73 points, down 0.52%, on a low turnover of €71.7 million. Blue chips dropped 0.61%, mid-caps 0.31% and banks 0.15%

The Athens stock market rebounded strongly Monday, on the back of bank shares' performance and positions on other blue chips.

The general index ended up 1.74%, at 1,285.27 points, on turnover of €108.5 million.

Negative sentiment in European markets and investors locking in short-term gains led the Greek stock market to drop for a third successive week on Friday.

The week's final trading session was decisive for the negative trend.

The unexpected move by Italy's government to slap a windfall tax on local banks and Moody's downgrading of certain US banks affected European stock markets negatively on Tuesday, leading investors to sell shares and turn to government bonds. Athens followed.