athens exchange

The anticipated transaction of the package of shares in Terna Energy, with 14.6% changing hands eventually on the day, sent turnover soaring at the Greek stock market on Friday, accounting for two thirds of the day's action at Athinon Avenue.

Athinon Avenue ended Thursday with hardly any changes to its main indexes. The day started off with a decline, as the expected 25-basis point cut by the Fed on Wednesday was already priced in, while the caution the US central bank showed in its statement led markets to believe a more restrained year is looming, according to a PIMCO commentary.

Banks stocks took it upon themselves Wednesday to get the Athens bourse to rebound after two days of profit taking by investors. In a rather narrow session, with little movement for the main index despite the rather high turnover, the closing auctions gave the final push that made rising stocks edge out the decliners.

The time came for traders to cash in their recent stock gains, as sellers dominated proceedings at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday, focusing on blue chips, and especially banks. Infrastructure companies begged to differ though, recording growth.

Greek stocks had a mixed session on Monday, with banks showing a rather contained reaction to the government measures expected to cost them over 300 million euros, according to estimates. The benchmark lost some ground, but mid-caps saw their index advance, with rising stocks narrowly outnumbered by decliners.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse has risen to highs unseen since September 26 after notching up fresh gains on Friday. Industrial and energy stocks drove the market higher on a day of gains for the vast majority of stocks, albeit with the lowest turnover of the last 12 sessions. Sunday's government announcements in Parliament will largely shape next week's trading landscape.

The largely expected European Central Bank rate cut by 25 basis points and the mild rise of European stocks led Athinon Avenue to a day of gains on Thursday. Energy blue chips, such as Metlen, led the bourse higher as banks show some fatigue, while mid-caps had a rather weak day.

Stocks at Athinon Avenue produced a mixed session on Wednesday as the blue chip and banks indexes lost minimal ground, while the majority of stocks and mid-caps recorded gains, leaving the benchmark virtually unchanged. 

Greek stocks ended their rising streak on Tuesday, after six sessions of growth for the benchmark, though the profit-taking appetite of traders was quite moderate.

After the credit rating upgrade for Greece by Scope Ratings and the favorable reports on Greek bank stock prices, the local bourse extended its rising streak to six sessions on Monday. In this period the main index has risen by over 5% to highs unseen since late September. Capital Link's Greek stocks roadshow in New York, which kicked off on Monday, could also boost prices further.