ATHEX: Marginal rise for bourse this week
The stock market at Athinon Avenue closed for Christmas with losses for most stocks on Friday, as traders engaged in more profit-taking, which hit banks hardest. This wiped out almost all of the week’s gains for the benchmark, with a relatively increased daily turnover, three sessions before the end of the year. This was the second straight week of growth for the main index – albeit marginal.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,290.89 points, shedding 0.59% from Thursday’s 1,298.56 points. On a weekly basis it advanced by just 0.01%.
The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.74%, ending at 3,114.08 points, though mid-caps expanded 0.20%.
The banks index declined 1.60%, as National dropped 2.48%, Alpha gave up 1.61%, Piraeus fell 1.18% and Eurobank parted with 0.76%. Viohalco slumped 1.49%, Motor Oil sank 1.48% and OPAP gaming company shrank 1.10%, while Autohellas improved 1.08%.
In total 42 stocks showed gains, 59 suffered losses and 23 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 75.7 million euros, up from Thursday’s €56.4 million.
In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange decreased 0.30% to close at 136.33 points.