FTSE

Stocks on the Athens bourse had a rather quiet start to the week on Tuesday, the same day that talks resumed on the second bailout review, with expectations remaining low for now. Trading volume only increased somewhat during the closing auctions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 645.88 points, adding 0.08 percent to Friday's 645.37 points.

The anticipation of the start of talks between the government and the country's creditors next week, as well as the long weekend - that saw many traders cut their week short - resulted in a particularly quiet session on the local stock market on Friday, with a mixed picture dominated by sliding banks and rising small-caps.

Trading at the Greek bourse was slow on Thursday with investors hanging back and waiting for developments from the talks between Athens and its creditors that begin next week.

Tuesday's gains posted by bank stocks and the local bourse benchmark were wiped out on Wednesday on the realization that the second bailout review is nowhere near completion. The warning for Wednesday's drop for bank stocks had come at the end of trade on Tuesday, by which time their index had sunk to the day's low.

The positive momentum from the Eurogroup decision on Monday to see the creditors' representatives return to Athens next week carried Greek stocks higher on Tuesday, although the closing prices were significantly below their mid-session highs.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 655.20 points, adding 1.43 percent to Monday's 645.95 points.

The positive momentum from the Eurogroup decision on Monday to see the creditors' representatives return to Athens next week carried Greek stocks higher on Tuesday, although the closing prices were significantly below their mid-session highs.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 655.20 points, adding 1.43 percent to Monday's 645.95 points.

Traders were clearly feeling optimistic about Monday's Eurogroup and the upcoming resumption of negotiations during the week's first bourse session at Athinon Avenue, giving bank stocks a respectable push, while the rest of the market remained split between winners and losers.

A Der Spiegel magazine report suggesting the International Monetary Fund plans to enter the Greek bailout program with up to 5 billion euros, offered a boost to Greek stocks at the end of the week, leading to significant gains across the board on the local bourse.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 639.46 points, adding 1.60 percent to Thursday's 629.36 points.

A quiet day on the Greek bourse on Thursday left a mixed picture among stocks with the lowest trading volume of the last eight sessions.

Bank stocks and PPC led Wednesday's price slump in the Greek stock market, though the fears of a continued deadlock in talks between Athens and its creditors through spring were somewhat contained by statements from European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici in Athens. This led to a stop-loss move in the last hour of trading, but market concerns remain.