Greek stocks rise again as banks recover from crash

Greek stocks scored small gains on Friday, with the Athens bourse's banking share index outperforming after steep losses this week.

The benchmark overall share index was up 0.6 percent, with the banks rising 3.5 percent.

The moves signaled further calming on the bourse, which saw the Greek banking index crash 63 percent on the first three days of the week, before bouncing back 17.8 percent on Thursday.

Investors are worried about a needed recapitalization of Greece's banks — anything from 10 billion euros to 25 billion euros, according to the European Union. That would cut heavily into current shareholder value.

Greece is in negotiations with the EU and International Monetary Fund for as much as 86 billion euros ($94 billion) in fresh loans to stave off financial ruin and economic collapse.

Questions about how easily that agreement will come have also been weighing on the bourse, which was closed for five weeks before Monday as part of capital controls to stop a flight of euros.

[Reuters]