FTSE

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.

Sellers ruled the roost once again at the Greek bourse on Monday, with the benchmark heading lower for the third day in a row. The ejection of former prime minister Antonis Samaras from ruling New Democracy and the permission Washington has apparently granted to Kyiv for using long-range missiles to hit Russia combined to apply fresh pressure on stock prices.

Banks were the star stocks in Friday's bourse session at Athinon Avenue, taking the benchmark higher to add to its weekly gains, though the majority of stocks finished lower on the day.

The rising sequence of five sessions came to an end for the benchmark of the Greek bourse on Thursday, though only by the smallest of margins. There were conflicting trends in the session, switching the course of the main index from positive to negative and back several times.

Contrary to most eurozone bourses, the Greek stock market reacted positively to the election of Donald Trump in the US, though its early gains were curtailed significantly by the end of the session. Therefore local stocks continued their ascent for a fifth day, although mid-caps ended up in the red. A five-session rising sequence for the benchmark had not been recorded since mid-August.

Stocks on the Greek bourse enjoyed a rare respite on Tuesday after the pressure of the previous days, regaining some of the ground lost on the day of the US presidential election, with the benchmark all but recapturing the 1,400-point level, on significantly improved turnover too.

Athinon Avenue was unable to find a clear direction on Monday, and the week's first session ended with the benchmark virtually unchanged. Shrinking turnover revealed that most traders are holding their fire to see the results of the US presidential election and the two-day meeting of the Fed, both of them this week.

Banks almost single-handedly pushed the benchmark of the Greek bourse higher on Friday, as the other blue chips appeared rather weak on the day.

Coming off a near-three-month low on Wednesday, the Greek bourse tried to stage a reaction to its price decline on Thursday, but the effort appeared only half-hearted.

Sellers returned with a vengeance on Wednesday at the Greek stock market, following Tuesday's recovery of prices. Stocks took a tumbling, led by banks, in line with most other eurozone bourses that also suffer sudden losses on the day.