FTSE

The losses sustained by bank stocks at the start of the trading week weighed on the Greek bourse benchmark in what was a rather nervous session in view of Monday's Eurogroup meeting. As a result, the main index ended lower, even though most other blue chips posted gains.

Bank stocks recovered on Friday after three consecutive days of decline - when their sectoral index gave up almost 7.5 percent - to give the rest of the bourse a push at the end of a losing week.

The euphoria witnessed on other markets in response to the Dutch election results failed to register in Greece on Thursday, as investors remain reserved about the talks between Athens and its creditors, hence the 0.06 percent drop of the banks index.

The prospect of long-drawn-out negotiations between Athens and its creditors is testing the patience of investors, and that, combined with jitters regarding the Dutch general election and the Fed's interest rate decision, led to further losses at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday.

Investors in the local bourse were clearly nervous on Tuesday - largely due to the increase in Greek lenders' dependence on the Bank of Greece's emergency liquidity mechanism, as well as Single Supervisory Mechanism head Daniele Nouy's visit to Athens - and this resulted in significant losses for the vast majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue, with banks leading the way.

It may sound paradoxical, but it took a particularly quiet session at the Greek stock market for the benchmark to top 650 points on Monday, after days of trying. Trading volume was the second lowest so far this year, with some observers attributing it to the planned bond offer by OPAP that may shift some investors' attention away from the bourse.

Apart from the general air of uncertainty, little could be drawn from Friday's session at the Greek bourse as the benchmark barely budged and turnover dropped back below 30 million euros. The distance that remains between Athens and the country's creditors on a number of issues does not bode well for next week either.

Try as it might, the local bourse benchmark failed again on Thursday to get a toehold on the 650-point level, ending the session with a minor drop, although rising stocks outnumbered the losers.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse halted its four-session losing streak and rose by almost 1 percent on Wednesday. Its gains were curtailed in the closing auctions when many traders chose to cash in the day's gains, likely recalling how short-lived the recent bursts of optimism regarding the course of the bailout review have proved.

Greeks stocks presented a mixed picture on Tuesday as news that progress in the review talks should keep the creditors' mission in Athens for a few more days offset the impact of Monday's economic contraction data for the last quarter of 2016.