The Athens Stock Exchange is showing strong resistance as it tries to stay out of the international liquidity crunch after Israel's retaliation on Iran, with selected blue chips giving it a significant boost while banks continue to remain cautious for another day. 

Specifically, the General Index opened at 1,371.5 points, down 0.69% but is now up slightly by 0.4% at 1,386 points, with a satisfactory turnover given the international climate at 50 million and trading volume at 11.2 million shares.

After a two-day liquidation at the start of the week in the wake of escalating tensions in the Middle East with Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday, the market pulled off a two-day bullish reaction by regaining the 1,380 zone yesterday, but again has a tough task ahead as clouds thicken again in the region following Tel Aviv's retaliation against Tehran in the early hours of today.

The bank index is down 0.1% at 1,172 points, while the FTSE is up 0.35% at 3,363 points and mid-cap FTSEM is up 0.35% at 2,248 points (+0.95%).

Among the main buyers' picks, PPC and Cenergy, which lagged yesterday's rise, are currently jumping 2.1% and 4% respectively, with Mytilineos continuing to rise strongly with +1%.

Closer to home, Labda is up 1.8%, OPAP is up +1% and Viohalco is up +2.6%, with additional help from index heavy Coca Cola at +0.5%.

Banks are now also exploring the potential to move higher, with Alpha at +0.7% and National Bank marginally in the green, while Piraeus and Eurobank have narrowed losses to below 0.5%..

Sellers persist in Motor Oil at -1%, OTE at -0.8% and Terna Energy at -0.7%. In the mid-cap sector, Profile is rallying strongly by over 8%, Intracom is up 4% and AMDIE is up +2.5%.