Drop follows negative European sentiment
Shares fell yesterday, tracking sour sentiment across Europe, with heavyweight OTE Telecom shedding more than 2 percent after a downgrade by UBS. «The Greek market moved in parallel with sliding European bourses today in the absence of significant news on the domestic front,» said analyst Costas Xenos at Egnatia Securities. The benchmark general share index lost 0.84 percent to 2,127.28 points. Shares in OTE fell 2.56 percent to 9.88 euros, erasing the previous day’s gains. Selling pressure also spread to bellwether National Bank, which lost 0.77 percent to 17.98 euros. The bank will report nine-month results today, after the market closes. General Bank bucked the trend, gaining close to 5 percent in early trade, as investors welcomed reports indicating strong interest in a tender to sell a significant stake in the bank. The stock closed at 6.62 euros, up 2.16 percent. Among the advancers, Public Power Corporation (PPC) rose 0.57 percent to 17.64 euros as a three-day offering of 15.7 percent, priced between 16.40-17.72 euros, kicked off yesterday. Turnover rose to 131.29 million euros, with 26.6 million shares changing hands. Decliners outnumbered advancers 253 to 67, with 42 unchanged against 362 traded. (Reuters)
