Viohalco

The Athens Stock Exchange posted mild gains on low turnover Friday without venturing into negative territory. However, it ended lower for the week for a second consecutive time.

The general index closed at 1,319.52 points, a gain of 0.40%, on turnover of €76.1 million. Blue chips rose 0.41%, mid-caps 1.55% and banks 1.53%.

Despite anothe negative session, the Athens Stock Exchange managed to stay above 1,300 points and limit early losses that reached 3.22%.

Considering the selling pressures that developed abroad after Fitch Ratings downgraded the US debt, holding on above the 1,300-point threshold can be considered a success.

The Athens Stock Exchange proved unable to hang on to early gains recorded on Tuesday. The ASE general index, which got close to its highest levels since 2014, ended down 0.84%, closing at 1,324.28 points.

Negative trends in other European stockmarkets finally were felt in Athens.

Blue chips lost 0.91% and mid-caps dropped 1.35%. Banks lost 0.78%.

Traders cashed in some of the week's gains on Friday ahead of the announcement of the first-half results by the systemic banks that should shape the new week. The day's decline reversed the weekly gains into losses, while the market had already priced in the favorable stress test results of the systemic banks, announced after the conclusion of the session.

The vast majority of Greek stocks ended Thursday's trading session with gains, but some non-bank blue chips held the benchmark back from hitting a new nine-year high and the 1,350-point level, which remains elusive for now. The positive messages from the US Fed and the European Central Bank create a favorable climate for further price growth in the coming days, analysts note.

The Athens bourse reverted to its rising course with renewed strength on Tuesday, as the benchmark of the market climbed to highs unseen since early April 2014 thanks to the positioning of several investors in local companies ahead of Greece's much-anticipated credit rating upgrade. Still, the main index stopped short of the 1,350-point mark, closing three points off the mid-session high.

Concerns over Greek tourism, given the forest fires on Rhodes and Corfu, put an end to the rising streak of the Athens stock market on Monday, with the indexes suffering small losses and the losing stocks outnumbering the gainers, on reduced turnover too. Still, Aegean Airlines recorded a new historic high on the day.

A number of energy and industrial blue chips kept the Greek stock market benchmark on a positive course on Friday, in the face of the decline of the majority of stocks and the banks index. The main index ended the week at another nine-year high through its marginal growth, which revealed fatigue on the part of traders and the resilience of some index-heavy stocks. 

Even without the support of bank stocks, the Athens bourse benchmark soared to yet another nine-year high on Wednesday, in line with the positive mood across eurozone markets. Four out of the 21 non-banking blue chips closed at historic highs, also helped by the Scope Ratings report about the growing prospect of Greece regaining investment grade.

Greek stocks shook off the early pressure on Tuesday to follow the lead of banks and end the day with moderate growth.