Greece: Stock market reopens for first time in five weeks

The Greek stock market plunged by nearly 23 percent as it reopened in Athens on Monday, after a five week suspension due to the country's economic and political crisis crisis. The Athens stock exchange was shut down one June 29, when the Greek government introduced controls on money withdrawals in order to avoid a total collapse of the banking system. On the reopening of the stock market banking shares were hit the hardest, with the National Bank of Greece - the country's largest commercial bank - tumbling by 30 percent. Withdrawal limits remain in place as the Greek government continues to negotiate with its lenders, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (EBC) and the European Commission.