Telecoms lead losers
The optimistic analysts that had forecast Greece’s staging of the Olympic Games would blow a new favorable wind through the local stock market were proved even further from the truth last week, as the Athens Stock Exchange sank deeper, closing at 2,255.34 points on Thursday. The bourse was closed on Friday, the opening day of the Olympic Games. Average turnover per session dropped to 86.8 million euros from 90.9 million euros the week before. Textiles outperformed with gains of more than 4 percent, while heavyweight telecom companies led losers by falling in similar measure. Construction also recorded a sharp slide. Market pace continued to be set by first half results, which have, on the whole, been according to expectations, yielding no pleasant surprises so far. All firms are due to report by August 31. Banks again put on a good performance, while other sectors, such as foodstuffs, metallurgy and retail commerce stood their ground and even gave some signs of a recovery after two years of a downturn. By contrast, information technology and construction firms disappointed and their prospects in the near future are not considered upbeat, as a large number of projects have been completed and many firms are facing a survival problem. The issue of liquidity continues to be the market’s major concern, as daily turnover remains subdued below 100 million euros. The most marketable securities last week were Alpha Bank, OTE Telecom and its mobile subsidiary CosmOTE.
