A strong rebound from banks at midday, reversed broader markets early losses of around 1%. Optima Bank, which commenced trading on Wednesday, came under severe pressure in early trade, but managed to reduce losses. Europe was mixed, trying to claw back some of the recently lost ground. 

At 1326 local time, the general share index was up 0.2% to 1170 points. Banks added 2%, recovering from early losses of close to 2%.

Optima was down over 4% in early trade, but managed to reduce its losses to 0.7% at midday. . The starting price was 7.20 euros. 

Among banks, NBG rose 3.1%, Alpha +1.9%, Piraeus +1.9%, Eurobank +1.4%. 

Elsewhere, the outlook was mixed, with Cenergy adding 1.6%, while OTE fell 1.6%.