FTSE

The announcement by the Greek prime minister in London that the government has no intention to impose an extraordinary levy on banks' profits gave a major boost to credit sector stocks on Monday. This carried along the rest of the stock market, with the index climbing more than 2% on the day, with increased turnover too.

The Greek bourse session on Friday showed some worrying signs for observers, with the benchmark closing at the day's low, below the psychologically significant 1,400-point level, and with one of the biggest listed companies, National Bank, seeing its price lose significant ground.

Thursday's bourse session at Athinon Avenue will only be remembered for the transaction of the 67% of Terna Energy that passed on to Masdar for 1.66 billion euros. Otherwise the day was very quiet, owing to the US holiday, and the benchmark was virtually a non-mover. Friday sees the issue of the GEK Terna and Terna Energy third-quarter results, and is a half-day on the US markets.

The momentum from the ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to end on Wednesday, and the benchmark of the Greek stock market succumbed to its first losses after five consecutive days of growth during which it had grown by over 3%. Banks were at the center of the profit-taking process.

The lowest turnover of the last 11 weeks did not stop the benchmark of the Greek stock market from recording another day of growth, albeit small, on Tuesday, making it five in a row. It has now put clear blue water between itself and the 1,400-point psychological milestone.

Greek stocks remained on an upward course on Monday, with the benchmark continuing its ascent for a fourth day in a row while the index rebalancing triggered a considerable increase in turnover during the closing auctions. The week therefore appears front-heavy, given the slow trade expected on Thursday and Friday due to Thanksgiving in the US.

Blue chips at the Greek stock market offset the pressure on banks and overturned the early losses to see the benchmark end the week with daily gains. However, that was not enough to reverse the overall negative result of the week. The majority of stocks ended in the red, always affected by the international concern on European geopolitics, but turnover recorded a moderate increase.

A series of largely positive corporate results published on Thursday gave a fresh boost to the Greek stock market and offered the benchmark the chance to recover more of the ground lost in previous days. However, this price increase was recorded on significantly reduced daily turnover, the lowest of the last 13 sessions.

The Greek bourse's benchmark came off Tuesday's three-and-a-half-month lows on Wednesday to show a significant rebound, even if that was on the lowest turnover of the last nine sessions. The day's gains snapped a five-day losing streak, led by non-banking stocks.

Global stock markets are under a wave of liquidations, with the geopolitical landscape clouded by the nuclear threat arising from the escalation of tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war.