A flat end to a year best forgotten
Stocks closed slightly higher Tuesday to end 2002 with losses of 32.5 percent. The Athens bourse’s general index ended the year at 1,748.42 points. «Investors are still taking a wait-and-see stance ahead of Iraq developments and the shaping of corporate earnings,» said analyst Grigoris Karayannopoulos at Cyprus Securities. «The market’s course in December, with low trading, doesn’t bode well for a different picture in January,» he said. Turnover came to 53.58 million euros, from 62.64 million euros a day earlier, with 17.3 million shares traded. «Some stocks, such as construction and cement, will have a better performance in 2003 ahead of the Olympic Games,» said Christos Skroumas, analyst at Merit Securities. Blue chips rose 0.14 percent. Mid-caps rose 0.54 percent and small-caps gained 1.07 percent. Winners beat losers 200 to 105 with 52 shares unchanged on 357 traded. The bourse was closed yesterday and reopens today. (Reuters)
