The first week of September was an unpleasant surprise for stocks as it took the bourse's main index to its lowest level since the start of the year.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index dropped by 4.52 percent to 3,143.92 points on Friday from 3,292.69 points the previous week.

The considerable losses are attributed to global concerns about the economic slowdown. Stock markets across the world suffered a decline that is clearly not yet over.

An Emporiki Bank analysis suggests that this is the third time the index has approached the 3,100-point level in the last couple of months and if there is to be any hope of a healthy rebound this level has to be maintained. Otherwise, Emporiki adds, the downward spiral will feed itself and take the index even below the 3,000-point mark.

The Ethniki-P&K stockbrokerage points out that the Greek market is trading at a lower valuation on a price per earnings level compared with other bourses in Europe for the first time in many years.