ATHEX: Local stocks consolidate recent gains

The fourth consecutive day of growth on the Greek bourse took the benchmark of Athinon Avenue almost 2% higher than the previous week's close, while the bank's index earned more than 2.5% within a week. Optimists say this slow rise of stocks bodes well for the coming weeks as it consolidates the ground earned with increasing turnover too, while pessimists argue that buyers have run out of steam and sellers are waiting to cash in on stocks' recent gains.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,443.57 points, adding 0.34% to Thursday's 1,438.67 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 1.89%, ending a two-week slide.

The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.56%, closing at 3,519.65 points, and the banks index added 0.43%, with Piraeus rising 2.19%, Eurobank 0.73% and Alpha 0.16%, though National gave up 0.64%.

In total 59 stocks brought gains, 41...