Local stock market in the doldrums

While Wall Street and European bourses are moving near historic highs, despite uncertainty surrounding the outcome and impact of the US presidential election and the ongoing geopolitical tensions, the momentum on the Athens Stock Exchange remains lackluster, while foreign funds are conspicuously absent.

As a result, the Greek market is unable to capitalize on the success story of the economy and to experience the boost that many had predicted from Greece's change of track and its entry into the group of "investable" countries.

According to analysts, this underperformance is partly due to the lower liquidity, as after its multi-year freeze the Greek market has reheated with IPOs, placements and bond issues that have absorbed some cash flow and activated a wait-and-see approach by stock investors.

The low performance of ATHEX is also attributed to the reversal of...