Traders call for shorter days at the bourse
Investor interest in the Greek bourse is dwindling by the day, with turnover reaching a fresh 10-month low on Wednesday, while stocks were split down the middle between gainers and losers.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 841.24 points, sliding 0.13 percent from Tuesday’s 842.33 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index gave up 0.02 percent to end at 285.72 points, but the mid-cap index contracted by 1.04 percent.
An increasing number of traders are saying that, at least for the summer vacation period, it may be excessive to have a six-and-a-half hour session with such thin trade. Fewer hours would suffice, they argue.
Marfin Investment Group (down 4.17 percent), METKA (3.52 percent) and EYDAP (3.10 percent) sustained the biggest drops among blue chips, while National Bank expanded by 1.96 percent, Hellenic Petroleum climbed 1.66 percent and Intralot went up 1.30 percent.
In total 54 stocks posted gains, the same number registered losses and 27 were non-movers.
Turnover amounted to 16.4 million euros, lower than Tuesday’s 20.5 million. Trade was even smaller than on December 31, a half-day.
