FTSE

The decline of bank stocks at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday dragged the rest of the market lower too for the day, but April closed with gains of 1.84% for the benchmark. Notably, a number of blue chips bucked the trend and notched up impressive growth on the day, pointing to the potential for a further advance in the days to come.

As the month draws to a close, and with it the period of the year's first four months that is taken into account for the rebalancing of stock indexes, stocks entered the short week (of just three sessions) with a mixed picture: Banks and blue chips ended up lower, but the benchmark, bolstered by mid-caps, managed to offset all losses and close with marginal gains on Monday.

The deal for Epsilon Net boosted not only the information technology sector but also the entire stock market at Athinon Avenue on Friday, leading to a new 13-year high at the end of a week of significant growth across the board. The advance was also fueled by the rise in foreign markets, and has signs of being sustained for the time being.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market came off Wednesday's 13-year high to show notable losses on Thursday, closing at the day's low too. The Athens market continues to anticipate corporate news such as mergers and acquisitions and was predictably in profit-taking mood on the back of six consecutive sessions of gains for the main index.

The Greek stock market continued its rise for another day, as its benchmark climbed to a new 13-year high on Wednesday, though it seemed to hit its ceiling in mid-session, when it challenged the 1,460-point level.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market on Tuesday built on the momentum from the previous sessions and climbed to a new 13-year high. Far from being concerned about the European elections or the domestic politics and finance, traders are keeping an eye on prospective mergers and acquisitions, while the anticipation and excitement sent the daily turnover soaring.

The Greek stock market accelerated its growth on Monday, with its benchmark posting gains of almost 2% on the back of growth from most blue chips, including the banks, and despite the rather modest daily turnover. This has taken the main index safely above the 1,400-point mark, after a daily rise unseen in almost five months.

The Greek stock market quickly shook off the effect of renewed tensions in the Middle East and reversed its early losses to head higher at the end of a very interesting week regarding the future course of Athinon Avenue.

This time the bulk of stocks at Athinon Avenue produced a strong reaction on Thursday to the decline of previous days, unlike the weak rebound of Wednesday. The main index reversed a significant portion of its recent losses, even if banks did fail to impress with their recovery on the day.

After four sessions of decline for its benchmark, adding up to 4.44%, the Greek stock market rebounded on Wednesday, though not in the fashion that would have offset a significant part of recent losses. The losing streak may have been snapped, but it will take more convincing for traders to revert to the rising course of the month's first half.