Limited profit-taking ends ASE’s upward run
Shares fell slightly on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) yesterday after three sessions in which the general index had risen a total of 1.42 percent. In blue chips, there were limited profit-taking moves while small-capitalization stocks, generally of little interest to investors, experienced yet more downward pressure. The ASE general index closed at 2,362.18 points, a drop of 4.23 points, or 0.18 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips declined 0.14 percent to close at 1,279.27 points. Mid- and small-caps dropped 0.36 percent and 0.48 percent respectively. Banks and telecoms bucked the trend, rising 0.03 percent and 0.20 percent respectively. Among banks, Emporiki gained 0.55 percent to close at 18.40 euros, National rose 0.41 percent to 19.36 euros, and EFG Eurobank gained 0.22 percent to 18.50 euros. Alpha Bank dropped 0.76 percent to 20.84 euros. Among telecoms, OTE gained 0.54 percent to close at 11.22 euros, but mobile telecommunications subsidiary CosmOTE slipped 0.15 percent to close at 13.52 euros. Of the 353 traded stocks, 79 gained, 170 declined and 104 ended unchanged. Turnover was 105.33 million euros, including 15.55 million in prearranged trades of share blocks.
