Titan Cement

The Greek stock market bucked the trend set by its peers in the rest of the eurozone and the US on Monday to record losses at the start of the week, with pressure mounting on bank stocks and a few other blue chips, and trading volume posting a notable decline too.

As daily turnover at Athinon Avenue fell to its lowest in a month on Friday, stocks reverted to a downward course, partly due to the absence of any changes in the MSCI Greece index as expected on Thursday, along with the rise in Greek bond yields.

The Greek stock market has now chalked up four declining sessions out of four so far in November, only on Wednesday the closing auctions failed to rein in the losses incurred by the benchmark. The banks index took quite a hit, tumbling almost 5 percent.

Stocks in Athens resisted pressures and continued their upward trajectory on Monday, with banks getting the credit for grabbing investors' attention and leading the benchmark higher, although turnover remained below the 50-million-euro mark. Traders appear to be pricing in a likely Greek credit rating upgrade this Friday by Standard & Poor's.

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.

Titan Cement and Public Power Corporation ensured the benchmark of the Greek bourse remained in the black for one more day on Thursday, though it was still below recent highs.

Traders reacted to Monday's decline on Tuesday with a small rebound for most stocks, though the session at Athinon Avenue was clearly overshadowed by the state bond issue whose books opened half an hour before trading started on the bourse.

The Greek stock market was no exception to the rule in most eurozone bourses on Monday, where investor skittishness resulted in moderate losses and low trading volumes. Local traders may also be waiting for today to position themselves in the new seven-year Greek bond.

The majority of stocks enjoyed further gains in the wake of Friday's buying spree during July's first session at Athinon Avenue on Monday. The benchmark recorded a new 17-month high despite the significant reduction in trading volume.

The absorption of some market liquidity by the Piraeus Bank bond issue and anticipation of the Fed's decision on US interest rate policy weighed on the Greek bourse on Wednesday, with the benchmark easing and trading volume shrinking in comparison with previous days.