Athens Exchange

The fourth consecutive day of growth on the Greek bourse took the benchmark of Athinon Avenue almost 2% higher than the previous week's close, while the bank's index earned more than 2.5% within a week.

The European Central Bank decision for a rate cut - the third this year - and the statements by its chief, Christine Lagarde, about a possible fourth one in December, and against any chance of a recession, helped European markets advance and the Greek bourse continue on the recovery path for a third session in a row on Thursday.

The bourse session at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday practically picked up from where Tuesday's session had left off, with further gains for the majority of stocks, led by banks, albeit, again, on reduced turnover.

The Greek stock market appeared on Tuesday to escape the downward spiral it has been in almost throughout this month, partly thanks to the easing of concerns internationally about a major deterioration of the crisis in the Middle East.

Another subdued session at the Greek stock market turned early gains into eventual losses on Monday. While mid-caps remained in the black and losing stocks outnumbered gainers by the smallest of margins, banks remained the weakest link, with sellers focusing on National Bank in particular. This came on the lowest daily turnover of the last 18 sessions.

The reaction of the Greek stock market on Friday to a string of sessions of decline was fairly unsatisfactory, as buyers appeared to be suffering from fatigue that the previous months' advance may have generated, without the catalyst that would trigger a rise. The market has now stagnated between 1,400 and 1,500 points for months.

A man over the age of 61 with at least a master's degree and most likely related to the company's main shareholder is the average member of the board of directors of companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, according to the fourth annual survey by RSM Greece.

The Greek stock market completed nine sessions of benchmark losses out of the last 10 on Thursday, with little fresh money coming in and the market being eager once again for some tangible developments such as business deals that have not already been priced in.

The Greek stock market continued to be “trapped” in a selling mood for the fourth consecutive day, with shares retreating significantly from the 1,420-point level and losing the support of 1,415 points. The share placements and capital increases by listed companies seem to be weighing on the market, at least in the short term.

Wednesday was another day of decline for the Greek bourse, led primarily by banks but spread across the board. However, a few blue chips bucked the trend and minimized the losses of the large-cap index. Liquidity in the market is clearly abundant, and turnover on the day topped 200 million euros, since traders felt they could ease off until bank stock prices return to lower levels.