ATHENS Greece's banking stocks plunged for the second day in a row on Tuesday, holding down the main Athens index which otherwise turned the corner after the previous day's record rout. 
 
 Nineteen of the exchange's 25 blue-chip stocks rose on the day, and the main index .ATG, of which around 20 percent is banks, was down only 1.2 percent. 
 
 Officials said they expected the coming days would see trading calm down. 
 
 With lenders in dire need of recapitalization after a flight of euros from deposits for most of this year, the banking index .FTATBNK closed down more than 29 percent, effectively at its 30 percent daily loss limit at which trading is halted. It was at that limit on Monday. 
 
 Many non-financial sector indexes gained on Tuesday. The blue chip retail sector .FTATRET, for example, was up more than 11 percent, driven by a similar rise in its main component, international jewelry chain Folie Folie (HDFr.AT). 
 
 The gains in non-financials suggested that historically low valuations were attracting investors and that fears of further turmoil between Greece and its international lenders were primarily consigned to banks. 
 
 "The second day of trading showed clear signs we are moving towards a normalization of the market after the long shutdown," said Socrates Lazaridis, chief executive officer of Hellenic Exchanges. 
 
 Among gainers were gaming group OPAP (OPAr.AT), up 4.2 percent, and Aegean Airlines (AGNr.AT), 8.8 percent. 
 
 The main index lost 16.2 percent, around 8 billion euros in value, on Monday, the first day of trading after a five-week shutdown taken as a protective measure as indebted Greece sought to hang on to euro zone membership. 
 
 There was no spillover evident from Greece's bank woes to other European markets. Many investors have cut their exposure to Greece and are focusing more on the state of core markets such as Germany and France. 
 
 FEAR FOR THE FUTURE 
 
 Even with Tuesday's non-bank gains, stocks have fallen to roughly the level they were at in 1990 and, while not as low as they were in 2012, are some 52 percent down on last year's high. 
 
 "Logically the market should be close to bottoming out at these levels after such a fall. Banks have been a drag on the benchmark index, given dilution fears in view of their need to recapitalizes," said Costis Morianos, head of Athens-based Asset Wise Capital Management. 
 
 Athens is in new bailout talks with its European Union partners and the threat of political and economic instability remains high. 
 
 There have, however, been signs of progress. 
 
 Greece said it expects to conclude a bailout deal with international lenders by Aug. 18, with the drafting of the accord starting on Wednesday. Its finance minister went further: 
 
 "Everything will be concluded this week," Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters after meeting representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the euro zone's rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism. 
 
 He did not elaborate and it was not immediately clear what level of agreement he was referring to. 
 
 It has been estimated by both the banks themselves and the creditors that between 10 billion and 25 billion euros ($11 billion-27.5 billion) is needed to recapitalizes Greek banks. 
 
 The economy, meanwhile, has reversed course and is heading back into recession. 
 
 The European Commission says it will shrink by 2 to 4 percent this year, a return to the recession that plagued Greece for six years until 2014. 
 
 A survey on Monday showed Greek manufacturing activity plunged to a record low as new orders plummeted and the three-week bank shutdown caused serious supply problems. 
 
 At the same time, Greece's economic sentiment hit its lowest in almost three years in July, a monthly report by the IOBE think tank said. 
 
 ($1 = 0.9108 euros) 
 
 (Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) ||||| A security officer stands at the entrance to the Athens' stock exchange , Greece July 27, 2015. 
 
 ATHENS Greece's stock market closed with heavy losses on Monday after a five-week shutdown brought on by fears that the country was about to be dumped from the euro zone. 
 
 Bank shares plummeted 30 percent before loss limits kicked in to stop investors selling any more. The main Athens stock index .ATG ended down 16.2 percent, recovering slightly after plunging nearly 23 percent at the open. 
 
 It was the worst daily performance since at least 1985 when modern records began, including a 15 percent fall when Wall Street crashed in 1987. 
 
 By contrast, the broad European FTSEurofirst 300 index was in positive territory for the day.FTEU3 [.EU] 
 
 "The market tanked, as expected," said Takis Zamanis, chief trader at Athens-based Beta Securities. 
 
 Banking shares, which make up about 20 percent of the Greece index, were particularly hard hit. The overall banking index .FTATBNK was down to its 30 percent daily limit. 
 
 All five shares comprising the index .FTATBNK - National Bank of Greece (NBGr.AT), Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT), Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT), Attica Bank (BOAr.AT) and Eurobank (EURBr.AT) - were locked down for much of the session at the limit with no buyers. 
 
 Greece's banks have seen deposits severely depleted as Greeks pulled out their euros for fear they would be forcibly converted into a new drachma outside the euro zone. The banks have been propped up by emergency money from the European Central Bank. 
 
 Traders said they expected more bank-share losses in the next session. 
 
 "Bank shares look like they have more room to slide on Tuesday before bids emerge," said one fund manager who declined to be named. "It will take a few days for the market to balance out." 
 
 Some companies outperformed, mainly those with exposure abroad, although they still fell. 
 
 "Buyers emerged for non-bank stocks, blue chips like OTE Telecom and (gaming group) OPAP, which shows that there is buying interest out there," Zamanis said. 
 
 OTE, which accounted for around 30 percent of the day's turnover, lost 11.5 percent. 
 
 There were only nine gainers, mainly small caps and with very small volume, exaggerating the moves. One, furniture maker Dromeas SA (DROr.AT), gained almost 29 percent after clinching a 30 million-euro deal to supply European Commission offices. 
 
 FEARS FOR FUTURE 
 
 Trading on the Athens bourse was suspended in late June as part of capital controls imposed to stem a debilitating outflow of euros that threatened to collapse Greece's banks and hurl the indebted country out of the euro zone. 
 
 Since then, Athens has agreed a framework bailout plan with its European Union partners in exchange for stringent reforms and budget austerity. 
 
 But implementation of the deal is some way off, keeping alive the threat of political and economic instability. There is also concern that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may need to call a snap election. 
 
 Monday's losses stemmed from a number of reasons. Negotiations on the new bailout might bog down, for example, leaving the government and banks perilously short of cash. 
 
 A report on Sunday in the newspaper Avgi, which is close to Syriza, said the government was seeking 24 billion euros ($26.37 billion) in a first tranche of bailout aid from international lenders in August. 
 
 Of this, the newspaper said, 10 billion euros was earmarked for an initial recapitalization of Greek banks, 7.16 billion euros to repay an emergency bridge loan and 3.2 billion euros to repay Greek bonds held by the European Central Bank and others. 
 
 In an interview with Ethnos newspaper on Monday, European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici described an August deal as possible, but added it would be "ambitious", suggesting that it would take hard work to achieve it. 
 
 Meanwhile, Greeks themselves are being severely restricted on the bourse. To limit the possibility of using shares as part of euro-flight, the government and ECB have said no extra money can be withdrawn by Greeks from deposit accounts to buy shares. 
 
 Greece's dismal economic prospects may also weigh on the market. The European Commission says the Greek economy will shrink by 2 to 4 percent this year, a return to the recession that plagued the country for six years until 2014. 
 
 On Monday, a survey showed Greek manufacturing activity plunged to a record low as new orders plummeted and the three-week bank shutdown caused serious supply problems. 
 
 Greece's economic sentiment also hit its lowest level in almost three years in July, a monthly report by the IOBE think tank showed. 
 
 (Writing by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
– At this rate, Greek banks may soon start to look like a canny investment. The Athens Stock Exchange had its worst drop on record yesterday when it reopened after being closed for more than a month, and things have not improved in early trading at the main Greek stock market today, reports Reuters. The index as a whole is down 4%, but the four main banks are down almost 30%. That is the maximum single-day fall allowed, and comes on top of a 30% fall yesterday. But US investors don't have too much to worry about, reports the AP: There is a good chance your mutual fund includes some Greek holdings, but even funds that specialize in emerging markets typically have only around 0.5% invested in Greece.