FTSE

The impact of inflation and rising interest rates on first-half corporate results of listed companies continues to put pressure on stock prices at Athinon Avenue, as the benchmark of the Greek bourse suffered fresh losses on Wednesday.

Tuesday saw the benchmark at Athinon Avenue avoid another decline as it held on to some of its gains and ended the day in the black and on a week-high, albeit on reduced turnover. On Wednesday the Greek bourse is entering the three-day period for the floating of Optima, the first bank to be listed on the Greek stock market since the end of the financial crisis.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market staged an impressive rebound late in Friday's session to come back from 1% down and close with gains of almost 1%. Banks led the way for the recovery of the index, though that was not enough to offset all its weekly losses.

Greek stocks suffered yet another slump on Thursday, with their losses growing as the day progressed, with floods in central Greece and the postponement of the prime minister's speech in Thessaloniki not helping stocks recover. Friday's DBRS Morningstar credit rating report on Greece could change all that.

The majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue posted a moderate decline on Wednesday, as the bourse failed to build on its Tuesday recovery. There was little in the direction of selling but even less action among buyers, so most of the day's reduced turnover went toward bringing prices down.

The Greek stock market reacted after four consecutive sessions of decline to post significant gains on Tuesday, and on notable trading volume too. Traders appear to have taken for granted that DBRS Morningstar will this Friday restore Greece's investment grade rating, and if that does not materialize the bourse will likely take a nosedive as of Monday.

Stocks at Athinon Avenue took a big blow on Monday, as sellers took the upper hand after the first few minutes of the session and proceeded with increasing fervor till the end of the day.

September began at Athinon Avenue with concerns expressed by traders after the first hour related to the global economy and the fear of stagflation. That led the benchmark to losses of almost 1% and a drop below the 1,300-point mark on Friday.

Local stocks ended a nother profitable month at the Greek bourse, as July saw gains of 4.45% to the benchmark at Athinon Avenue following a session of slight growth for the majority of stocks on Monday. As banks' second-quarter results started flowing in, non-bank blue chips stole the show, with Mytilineos reaching a new all-time high.

Traders cashed in some of the week's gains on Friday ahead of the announcement of the first-half results by the systemic banks that should shape the new week. The day's decline reversed the weekly gains into losses, while the market had already priced in the favorable stress test results of the systemic banks, announced after the conclusion of the session.