Dwindling volume makes local bourse appear irrelevant
Traditionally, stocks post gains at the end of December in what is known as ?year-end window dressing,? a last-ditch effort to improve the figures at the end of the annual cycle. This year the phenomenon appears to have shunned the Athens bourse, with daily turnover dropping ever lower.
On Thursday the Athens Exchange general index ended at 656.45 points, dropping 0.44 percent from Wednesday?s closing figure of 659.34 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index contracted by 0.16 percent to close at 252.05 points, although the mid-cap index expanded by 0.26 percent. Bank of Cyprus outperformed with gains of 7.21 percent, while OTE telecom lost 5.47 percent.
In total, 74 stocks registered gains, 72 posted losses and 29 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to just 20.7 million euros, down from Wednesday?s 23.5 million.
