Water supply and sanitation in Greece

Bank stocks continued their decline on Thursday, but that was not enough to force more losses on the Athens bourse benchmark, which gained more than 1 percent thanks to the closing auctions in a rather indifferent market, as the constantly low trading volume reveals.

 Social security funds reluctant to help out

By Sotiris Nikas & Roula Salourou

The government has called on major public corporations, including utilities, to invest their cash reserves in state debt, along the lines of the proposal made to social security funds and other state entities.

Perpetual warnings about an ?accident? and threats of a Greek referendum continued to aggravate the mood in the local economy on Friday, as reflected in the Athens stock market, which lost over 3 percent.

Investors appeared indifferent to the start of negotiations between Athens and its creditors? technical experts on Thursday, as the stock market slipped lower, mainly due to the drop in mid-caps.

The marked rise in turnover at Tuesday?s ATHEX session came about mostly during the containment of the early gains posted in the wake of Monday?s Eurogroup, as the benchmark?s 4 percent morning gains proved no more than a flash in the pan. Trading volume started picking up during the day as the sellers resurfaced to create a mix of green and red on the stock chart.

Traders rushing to exit the Greek bourse at the end of Thursday?s session led to the benchmark closing on the day?s low, as investor jitters rose on the scrapping of the euro cap on the Swiss franc along with uncertainty regarding the formation of the next Greek government.

Revelations about the major shortfall in December state revenues ? with a direct impact on the primary surplus ? and the cacophony of statements from election favorite SYRIZA candidates on the future of relations with the country?s creditors put an end on Wednesday to a series of gains for the Greek benchmark that had stretched to three sessions.

The return of deflation to the eurozone and continued talk about a possible Greek exit from the economic and monetary union inflicted fresh losses on local stocks on Wednesday, although these were contained to less than 1.5 percent for the benchmark ? from over 3.5 percent earlier in the day ? marking a new 26-month low.

The return of the prospect of a Greek exit from the eurozone according to foreign reports and the continuing fragmentation of the local political landscape led to a mini sell-off on Monday, with a relatively increased trading volume.

Non-banking chips led the local stock index to a significant recovery on Wednesday before the first vote for a new president took place, with traders buying into the optimistic scenario from the government camp that “it will be alright on the night” of the third vote on December 29.