Motor Oil

The Greek bourse had already priced in the issue of a five-year bond, so there was little reaction on the part of investors on Monday. A brief uptick in trade during the closing auctions proved enough to push the benchmark into positive territory and reverse losses for the banks index.

As signs had shown on Monday, stocks on the Greek bourse confirmed on Tuesday that they have run out of steam - at least for the short term - suffering sizeable losses as the benchmark fell from a 28-month high. The quality of the drop points to it being more than a mere correction after the recent gains.

Another session with plenty of action at the stock exchange on Wednesday saw the benchmark slip on the decline of mid-caps, although banks remained on a rising course. The closing auctions saw sellers outnumber buyers by a 10-to-one ratio.

That Friday feeling and some not unexpected profit taking saw trading volume drop and many stock prices register a decline at the Athens bourse on Friday, at the end of another week of gains - the fourth in a row - for the benchmark.

Trading on the Greek bourse produced mixed results on Thursday, with banks and a number of other stocks sliding while other blue chips such as Aegean, OTE and Motor Oil led the majority of stocks higher.

The growth of the Greek bourse's main index without the support of the bank sector is a trend that has emerged in in recent days and continued on Tuesday, with the banks index underperforming compared to the market benchmark, which keeps hitting new two-year highs every day.

The sudden cancellation of Tuesday's Euro Working Group meeting and the international uncertainty on various fronts contributed to the losses registered at Athinon Avenue in Tuesday's trading session, although the low turnover indicated that some players are still waiting for a clearer picture before making any decisive moves.

Apparently still in holiday mode, the Greek stock market had a mixed performance on Wednesday, with very thin trading, minor gains for the benchmark, robust growth for banks and a high number of losers - almost on a par with gainers. Traders appear reserved ahead of decisions on Greece expected from the International Monetary Fund.

News from Friday's Eurogroup meeting in Malta untied investors' purse strings in Athens and sent the benchmark to a new 17-month high, ahead of a week expected to offer easy gains given the customary drop in trade as Easter approaches.

Blue chips bounced back on Monday afternoon to offset their morning losses and end the day with small gains. However, the majority of stocks ended in the red and turnover amounted to the lowest level in 15 sessions - pointing to investor caution.