ATHEX: Turnover rises but stocks drop
The improvement of daily turnover on the Athens Exchange on Wednesday did not come with any growth in stock prices, as once again the closing auctions denied the benchmark a positive finish. However, Athinon Avenue generally outperformed most of its eurozone peers on a difficult day for stocks across the bloc.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 822.15 points, shedding 0.21% from Tuesday’s 823.92 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.37%, ending at 1,976.74 points.
The banks index eased 0.32%, as Eurobank slumped 1.72%, National shrank 1.44% and Piraeus gave up 0.68%, though Alpha advanced 2.60%.
PPC came off a 19-month low to grow 2.33%, while fellow blue chip Viohalco dropped to lows unseen in 17 months with its 2.64% decline. Motor Oil jumped 3.12%, Lamda Development parted with 2.95% and OPAP was down 2.94%.
In total 44 stocks posted gains, 58 endured losses and 16 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 67 million euros, up from Tuesday’s €47.2 million.
In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange decreased 1.61% to close at 68.42 points.
