Steep early losses cut by end of trade in Greek bourse
The European Central Bank’s decision not to accept Greek bonds as collateral for local lenders to gain access to liquidity as of next Wednesday, along with the Greek and German finance ministers’ meeting, weighed heavily on the Athens bourse on Thursday. However the 9 percent drop at the start of the session had been reduced to just 3.37 percent by the end.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 819.50 points, against Wednesday’s 848.04 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index contracted 4.48 percent to end at 246.37 points.
With their fate in Thursday’s trade sealed the night before, banks took a drubbing, as their index fell 10.04 percent. Piraeus Bank tumbled 14.97 percent and National lost 12.31 percent. Titan Cement rose 2.01 percent.
In total 22 stocks moved up, 84 declined and 13 stayed put.
Turnover came to 148.7 million euros, down from Wednesday’s 202.7 million.
