Piraeus Port Authority

Cosco, the owner of Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), achieved a positive result in the volume of commercial activity at Greece's main port over the first quarter of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic. As the Chinese group has observed that container handling is the best activity for resisting the effects of the recession, it is accelerating its investments in Piraeus port.

The measures Greece and other countries have taken to contain the spread of Covid-19 have not yet impacted trade in Piraeus, officials involved with business in Greece's main port told Xinhua.

Despite the pressure on banks at the Greek bourse on Tuesday that looked as though it might drag the benchmark lower still, most of the rest of the market posted healthy gains that saw the main index come off a four-year low, on improved turnover too.

Athinon Avenue experienced a mixed day on Wednesday following a number of sessions during which trends were clear, with the benchmark showing moderate gains as the banks index lost some ground.

As work got under way on Piraeus Port Authority's (OLP) new cruise terminal on Tuesday, top officials of global cruise tourism giants Carnival and Royal Caribbean expressed confidence that it would reposition Greece's main port at the center of the Mediterranean cruise market.

Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) achieved an increase in both its turnover, by 12.3 percent, and net profits, by 27 percent, on a yearly basis in 2019, mainly thanks to growth in container handling at the second and third container terminals operated by Cosco subsidiary PCT. There was also a notable improvement in revenues from ship-repairs and cruise tourism.

After a particularly quiet session on the Greek bourse, with the lowest turnover of the last four-and-a-half months, the benchmark at Athinon Avenue ended its four-day rising streak on Monday with a slight decline, mainly due to the bank losses.

Global concerns over the expansion of China's coronavirus have taken a toll on international markets, with the Greek bourse again being no exception. Thursday's was the fourth consecutive session of losses, which so far this week have added up to 1.6 billion euros in capitalization.

The rise of Coca-Cola HBC's stock by 1.95 percent on Friday contained the Greek benchmark's losses somewhat and kept the blue chip index above water at the end of a week of small gains for the local market.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 923.63 points, shedding 0.26 percent from Thursday's 926.06 points. On a weekly basis it improved 0.38 percent.

The banks index at Athinon Avenue staged a 2.74 percent rebound on Thursday, leading the benchmark of the Greek bourse back up to 926 points on turnover of more than 100 million euros.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 926.06 points, adding 1.30 percent to Wednesday's 914.17 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.22 percent to 2,308.07 points.