ATHEX: Friday’s gains vanish amid market nerves
Market jitters ahead of the Euro Working Group’s crucial decision on the disbursement of a 7.5-billion-euro bailout subtranche to Greece led the benchmark lower on Monday by almost exactly the same amount it posted in gains on Friday. The tension, reflected also in the very low trading volume, culminated during the closing auctions, when blue chips suffered most of their losses.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 639.11 points, shedding 1.47 percent from Friday’s 648.63 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 2.09 percent to end at 175.30 points. Still, mid-caps advanced 0.63 percent.
Banks fell 4.26 percent, led by Alpha (down 5.39 percent) and Eurobank (4.37 percent). Lamda Development lost 3.69 percent and Piraeus Bank 3.66 percent, while Coca-Cola HBC (up 0.75 percent) and Terna Energy (0.70 percent) led the few blue chips that bucked the downward trend.
In total 38 stocks secured gains, 53 registered losses and 24 remained unchanged.
Turnover was the lowest of the last 34 sessions, amounting to 41 million euros, down from Friday’s 48 million.
In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange declined 0.10 percent to close at 69.25 points.
