Stocks declined marginally yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) after failing, for the second session in a row, to hold on to early gains, especially the blue chips.

The ASE general index closed at 3,262.08 points, a drop of 3.77 points or 0.12 percent. During the session, it had reached a high of 3,276.89 points.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 0.02 percent to 1,808.94 points, while mid- and small-caps declined 0.01 percent and 0.61 percent respectively.

Several blue chips recorded gains, including National Bank (up 2.05 percent to 31.80 euros), refiner Motor Oil (1.39 percent to 17.5 euros), EFG Eurobank (0.64 percent to 25.06 euros) and OTE telecom (0.53 percent to 17.16 euros). By contrast, significant losses were sustained by electronics retailer and battery manufacturer Germanos (down 3.30 percent to 12.32 euros), telecommunications equipment manufacturer Intracom (2.59 percent to 5.26 euros), refiner Hellenic Petroleum (1.55 percent to 11.42 euros), Alpha Bank (1.18 percent to 23.36 euros) and betting company OPAP (1.11 percent to 23.26 euros).

Of 324 traded stocks, 104 gained, 158 declined and 62 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 186.38 million euros, including 22.5 million in prearranged trades.