Uncertainty dominates
The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index ended last week at 2,117.39 points, a loss of 46.08 points, or 2.13 percent on the previous week. Trading for most of the week seemed to suffer from lack of direction, but investors on Friday seemed to put the previous day’s jitters from the terrorist attacks in Istanbul behind them and returned with renewed interest in blue chips, mainly bank stocks. It was too late to reverse losses for the week, however. Weekly turnover, including block trades, fell to 723.44 million euros – an average of 144.69 per session. All three FTSE indices ended lower, with the Small Cap-80 losing 5.07 percent. The indices of 40 mid-caps and 20 blue chips shed 3.22 and 2.03 percent respectively. All sectoral indices receded, led by textiles which lost 9.54 percent, and followed by basic metals and insurance, which slid 6.56 and 6.37 percent respectively. Of the 371 shares traded, only 44 advanced, 315 declined and 12 remained unchanged. Emporikos Desmos led gainers with 10 percent, while Viosol was the biggest loser, declining 17.54 percent. The week’s most marketable securities were Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (81.9 million euros), EFG Eurobank, Alpha Bank and National Bank. Analysts said they do not expect the subdued market climate to change before listed firms complete their reporting of nine-month results this week. The consensus is that results are on the whole good and the index is unlikely to recede below the 2,100-point level, unless affected by strongly negative news abroad.
