Metka

The benchmark for Greek stocks completed its fourth consecutive week of losses on Friday, giving up 3.38 percent from the previous Friday. However, things could have been worse as it narrowly avoided posting a new year-low by bouncing back from below 1,040 points.

News of the rate cut by the European Central Bank gave Greek stocks a boost on Thursday, with banks benefiting the most, while turnover continued to grow, rising above the 100-million-euro mark.

The Athens stock exchange general index headed upward for a sixth consecutive day on Tuesday, rising by 1.56 percent to 1,177.35 points.

This means that the benchmark has risen by a total of 8.36 percent over the last six sessions.

There was a big increase in the turnover during Tuesday’s session.

It reached 92.84 million euros, compared to 44.7 million on Monday.

By Alexandra Kassimi

Commuters will be able to travel from Athens to the western port city of Patra by train in just two hours once the construction of the Suburban Railway (Proastiakos) section from Kiato to Rododafni is completed by METKA SA, the listed company that won the project’s tender. This is expected in 2017.

The bourse benchmark contained its mid-day losses of over 1.1 percent to end its third consecutive session of decline losing no more than just 0.10 percent on Wednesday, while turnover went back down to disappointing levels.

The main index of the Greek bourse climbed above the 1,250-point level on Thursday on a fourth straight day of gains, although declining stocks edged out those that rose and trading activity was significantly reduced.

A third day of losses for most stocks on the Greek bourse has taken the benchmark index to its lowest point of the last 17 sessions, with banks again leading the way for sellers.

Bank stocks continued to slide on Tuesday, dragging the rest of the local bourse down with them, as their index has now seen all of the gains registered since the start of the year wiped out. Whether the benchmark manages to post a positive or negative result for the first half of 2014 now hinges on this week’s remaining sessions.

The Greek bourse benchmark saw a fifth consecutive session of losses on Tuesday, with turnover remaining at low levels, as buyers had the upper hand in the morning before conceding ground to sellers in the afternoon.

After Tuesday’s correction, the Greek bourse reverted to a northbound course on Wednesday, with the buying gathering pace as the day went along in anticipation of news from Thursday’s European Central Bank board meeting that may decide on a rate cut.