OTE keeps sliding; bourse index lower
Stocks ended the week lower yesterday, closing below 1,700 points as pressure continued on heavyweight OTE ahead of its first quarter results next week. OTE fell 0.88 percent to 9.06 euros, trimming an earlier slide to 9.04 euros, while the Athens benchmark general index fell to 1,690.93 points, a loss of 3.4 percent on the week. «The Greek bourse was affected today by the downtrend on foreign markets, particularly in Germany,» said head analyst Grigoris Karayannopoulos at Cyprus Securities. Piraeus Bank fell 1.02 percent to 5.8 euros after releasing its first quarter results late on Thursday. Banks fell 0.74 percent while telecoms eased 0.11 percent, with the blue chip index off 0.58 percent to 834.86 points. Mid-caps fell 0.71 percent while small-caps closed down 0.96 percent. Turnover rose to 104.37 million euros,with 27.8 million shares changing hands. Decliners led advancers 227 to 87. (Reuters)