Hellenic Exchanges

Monday's downbeat trade on the Greek stock market was marked by the lowest turnover in the last 29 sessions, with the majority of stocks posting losses and a day when most European bourses registered gains.

The 17th session of gains in the last 20 wrapped up another robust week for the Greek bourse, with the market reclaiming morning losses to end higher again on Friday on somewhat reduced turnover.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market continued its northbound course for a seventh day on Thursday, as buyers made their presence felt in the latter half of the session, taking the main index's gains to over 7 percent since December 12.

Investors gave a thumbs-up on Tuesday to news that notaries had ended their boycott of property auctions, as Greek bank stocks jumped 4.25 percent at Athinon Avenue. However, the rest of the market didn't see much of a knock-on effect.

Investors in the Greek stock market appeared to be cautiously positioning themselves on Monday as blue chips posted a rise - led by banks - while the majority of stocks ended lower and turnover dipped, partly due to the holiday in the US.

Bank stocks at the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) continued heading south at the end of the week, extending the weekly losses of the benchmark and taking it close to the 800-point mark, while also illustrating that the market was unimpressed by the hype over French President Emmanuel Macron's visit.

The Greek bourse ended July with a monthly decline of 1.40 percent for its benchmark, mainly due to the drop recorded on Monday that was led by bank stocks. Tuesday's session is seen as crucial because a lack of reaction by buyers will signify a further drop in the medium term.

The first half of the year has just ended with the main index of the Athens stock market adding a remarkable 27.98 percent in that period, thanks to five consecutive months of growth (unseen since late 2013) capped by a 6.26 percent rise in June.

Featuring the lowest daily turnover in the last 20 sessions, the Greek stock market edged higher on Friday, managing to close at the day's high thanks to some positive corporate news for smaller firms such as Galaxidi Marine Farm and Boutaris.

Bank stocks led the Greek bourse in a rare rally on Tuesday on news of a provisional agreement between the government and the country's creditors ahead of the May 22 Eurogroup, with the benchmark climbing to new highs and trading volume the greatest recorded to date this year.