FTSE/Athex 20

The European Central Bank?s decision not to accept Greek bonds as collateral for local lenders to gain access to liquidity as of next Wednesday, along with the Greek and German finance ministers? meeting, weighed heavily on the Athens bourse on Thursday. However the 9 percent drop at the start of the session had been reduced to just 3.37 percent by the end.

Fears regarding Greece’s political stability in this election period saw investors feeling overexposed to the Athens market continue their flight on Friday, forcing major losses on the bourse for the second day in a row.

The closing auctions helped the Greek stock market’s benchmark index to post gains of almost 1 percent on Friday, as it registered a small weekly drop of 0.21 percent.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,327.87 points, adding 0.98 percent to Thursday’s 1,314.99 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 expanded 1.05 percent to 428.65 points.

Most of the trade during Wednesday’s bourse session in Athens was focused on banks Alpha and Piraeus, with the former adding over 4 percent and the latter shedding almost 6 percent on a day of moderate gains for the main index with a significant rise in turnover.