ATHEX: Chinese jitters shake local bourse too
Contagion fears of a global slowdown following China’s plunge were evident on European stock markets on Monday, resulting in a general decline during the year’s first sessions across the continent. Athinon Avenue was no exception, although the pain was limited to blue chips, while the rest of the market saw northbound stocks outnumber their southbound counterparts by almost two-to-one.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 621.12 points, contracting 1.62 percent from Thursday’s 631.35 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index gave up 2.42 percent to close at 178.90 points, but mid-caps gained 0.10 percent and small caps rose 0.50 percent.
The short-term outlook for stocks remains negative, with the absence of any party convergence ahead of the challenges the government will be facing in the next couple of months causing concern for traders as the first bailout review could be postponed further.
The Chinese jitters upped the pressure, leading the local banks index to losses of 2.65 percent, as Eurobank sank 3.85 percent and National Bank dropped 3.79 percent. OPAP declined 11.11 percent, while Public Power Corporation continued its ascent, adding 4.15 percent, and Lamda Development advanced 2.72 percent.
In total 63 stocks registered gains, 32 suffered losses and 32 closed unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 58.7 million euros, down from last Thursday’s 66.8 million.
