(MENAFN- AFP) Greek stocks on Thursday plunged close to 8 percent in a third straight day of losses over fears that the country's fragile recovery could be undermined by possible early elections.
The Athens general index fell to 822 points in late afternoon trading, with the top banks losing between 7.3 and 11 percent.
Anxiety over Greece's immediate political future has risen after the government unexpectedly brought forward a high-stakes presidential vote.
The fall followed a record 12.78 percent run on Tuesday -- the biggest one-day drop in nearly three decades -- and a fall of just over one percent on Wednesday.
The vote by 300 members of parliament to replace President Karolos Papoulias was due in February but a first round has now been set for December 17.
The election is a key test for embattled Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who would be forced to call snap general elections if his candidate -- former EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas -- fails to garner enough support.
Analysts have warned that the political uncertainty could stall Greece's fiscal reforms which are required under the terms of a 240-billion-euro ($295-billion) bailout package agreed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
In a speech to parliament on Thursday, Samaras said early elections "frightened" financial markets.
"Markets in Greece and abroad ... are afraid that if a president is not elected and the country is led to early elections, there will be general turmoil," Samaras warned.
The radical leftist party Syriza holds a steady lead in opinion polls over Samaras' conservative New Democracy party.
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, a 40-year-old former Communist, has pledged to raise wages and pensions, halt privatisations and re-negotiate Greece's bailout agreement with the EU-IMF creditors.
Samaras said a Syriza victory would be "disastrous" for the country.
"Foreign investors are horrified by Syriza's electoral programme," the PM said.
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