FTSE

The Greek stock market failed to follow the cool reaction of most other eurozone bourses to events in Israel over the weekend, and suffered losses on Monday that were somewhat moderated toward the end.

Concerns over a possible expansion of the war in the Middle East, with the involvement of Iran, weighed on the Greek stock market, inflicting losses on the benchmark on Friday. Even so, the index narrowly maintained the 1,400-point level and got to close the week with net growth, with turnover also rebounding.

Concerns abroad about a delay in the start of interest rate reductions by the Fed in the US were partly offset by the positive corporate results that are being issued at the Greek stock market, thereby containing the decline on Thursday at Athinon Avenue for most stocks on the board. Nevertheless, the daily turnover was the lowest of the last 11 sessions.

The Athens bourse had a mixed session on Wednesday, with the benchmark and the blue chips index ending the day with gains, while banks and the majority of stocks ended up in the red. The mood changed, and with it the color of the main index, after the release of the US inflation data in March. This third rising session for the bourse also showed a notable rise in turnover.

The Greek stock market rebounded on Monday, following last week's decline, with most stocks securing significant gains, led by banks.

As a result the benchmark regained the 1,400-point level, ending the day not far from the session's high. The report by the Bank of Greece, which undercut the government's growth estimate, did not seem to affect the mood of the market.

Athinon Avenue started the week's final session with a considerable drop in what has been the second straight week of decline for its benchmark, and saw turnover shrink further on Friday. However, it still managed to cover most of the ground lost over the course of the day to close with contained losses thanks to some of its blue chips.

Stocks went up, then down, and eventually - in the closing auctions - back up, during Thursday's session of the Greek bourse. Traders appeared reluctant to bring the benchmark closer to the 1,400-point level, as they obviously need a pretext for a solid recovery, following the recent decline.

The decline continued at the Greek bourse on Wednesday, though not as strongly as on Tuesday, with the benchmark yielding more ground. The banks index remained on a southbound course for a sixth consecutive session, underperforming the market and showing that the absence of initiatives or positive news on the domestic front will allow the momentum of the year's first quarter to slip.

The imported concerns, such as the losses at the start of the Wall Street session, the growing tension in domestic politics and the recent fatigue of buyers led Greek stocks to a significant decline on Tuesday after the four-day recess.

March proved to be the first month of decline - albeit marginal - after four months of growth for the benchmark of the Greek stock market, which dropped just 0.17% from end-February. In the last session of the local bourse ahead of the four-day recess, most stocks posted gains despite the decline of the banks index.