ATHEX: Bulls caught in a stock market trap
Thursday’s bourse session proved to be a “bull trap,” in that despite starting with promising gains – with the benchmark climbing above the 900-point mark during the day – a sell-off toward the end led it significantly lower than Wednesday’s close. Industrial stocks were hit hardest, as the prospects of energy rates appear fairly bleak.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 886.72 points, shedding 0.85% from Wednesday’s 894.30 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.68% to end at 2,142.80 points.
The banks index sank 1.47%, as Piraeus conceded 2.14%, National gave up 1.95%, Alpha shrank 1.90% and Eurobank eased 0.38%.
Viohalco slumped 4.10%, Mytilineos parted with 3.27%, Public Power Corporation fell 3.11%, ElvalHalcor declined 3.03% and EYDAP lost 2.59%. Five blue chips went up, led by Jumbo (1.59%) and OPAP (1.34%).
In total 24 stocks registered gains, 85 suffered losses and 15 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 93.8 million euros, up from Wednesday’s €60.2 million.
In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange decreased 0.38% to close at 66.01 points.
