GEK Terna

The new year started with another 58-month high for the Greek stock market benchmark on Thursday, showing that the local bourse's growth momentum remains strong even without the support of credit sector stocks.

With only one short session left till the end of the year - as stock trading will cease two hours early on Tuesday - the benchmark at Athinon Avenue remained on Monday close to the near-five-year highs registered on Friday.

Initial moves by the center-right government in its first six months in power have contributed to consolidating confidence, laying the groundwork for attracting much-needed investments and strengthening the short-term prospects of the Greek economy, several leading businesspeople tell Kathimerini.

A predictably quiet day on the Greek bourse on Friday ended at the highest point of the last 58 months as buyers proved quite active in the last hour-and-a-half of trading.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 920.54 points, adding 0.88 percent to Monday's 912.52 points, the highest since February 2015. On a weekly basis it advanced 3.19 percent.

It's already been three months from the day that binding offers by Hard Rock International and the consortium of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and GEK Terna were submitted for the Elliniko casino permit, but there is yet to be a decision on the sufficiency and the legitimacy of the documents submitted.

The last bourse session before Christmas at Athinon Avenue brought most listed companies a welcome festive gift, as sellers stood out for their absence, leaving buyers to have a field day on reduced turnover.

Stocks suffered a day of losses at the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday, with just a handful of sessions left till the end of the year for traders to complete their window dressing, but the benchmark didn't lose all its weekly gains, posting an increase of 0.11 percent compared to the previous Friday.

Imported concerns about the US-Chinese trade negotiations weighed on the Greek stock market on Wednesday, on the back of the release of Alpha Bank's third-quarter results on Tuesday and ahead of Thursday's results by National and Eurobank.

Developments in the banking sector, mainly regarding nonperforming loans, gave bank stocks at Athinon Avenue a significant boost on Tuesday as buyers made a comeback, bolstering the bourse benchmark in the process and taking daily turnover back above the 50-million-euro level.

Greek stocks retained on Monday their southbound course set last week, with the benchmark losing just over 1 percent and trading volume remaining low, following the warning by Moody's that the global economy appears headed toward a slowdown.