Ellaktor

The blow dealt by the bankruptcy of UK tour operator Thomas Cook to the Greek economy was too big for traders at the local stock market to ignore on Monday, leading to significant losses for many stocks, albeit on rather low turnover.

September's triple-witching and the rebalancing of indexes led to the largest daily turnover on the Greek stock market in the last three-and-a-half months on Friday. This was sealed in the closing auctions, when the benchmark reverted to positive territory at the end of another week of gains.

The containment of the rise in global oil rates and the new all-time low in the 10-year Greek bond yield spurred local stocks to a notable rise on Wednesday, with a remarkable increase in trading volume too.

Athens-listed group Ellaktor had fewer projects under way in the first half of the year, but recorded higher operating profits that saw it swing to net earnings of 5.7 million euros against losses of 31 million in the first half of 2018.

The Greek stock market shook off international concerns regarding oil prices and a US-Iran standoff and posted some healthy gains in the second half of the week's first session, on improved trading volume too.

The Greek stock market recovered somewhat on Wednesday after three days of losses thanks to a buying spree during the closing auctions that took the main indexes to the day's high amid a positive mood in most foreign markets.

Mall owners and managers have turned their attention to expanding as well as reconstructing their existing assets, with four such projects currently under way in Attica alone. The total value of these projects comes to more than 80 million euros.

Ellaktor, the construction group that is building the Thessaloniki metro, has openly contradicted operator Attiko Metro's assertion that the often-delayed project is nearing its final stages and that the main line will open in 2020.

The identity of the "mystery investor" who acquired a 3.9 percent stake in construction group Ellaktor for 18.8 million euros on Friday is expected to be revealed on Wednesday.

For construction conglomerate Ellaktor, a rise in the tolls of the Attiki Odos ring road around Athens is crucial if it is to restructure a significant bank loan on more favorable terms.