Slight decline caused by sales of blue chips
Stocks declined yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange, as investors cashed in on gains, especially in blue chips. The session followed the pattern of other European markets, with stocks gaining early and falling later. The ASE general index closed at 2,670.17 points, a decline of 13.08 points or 0.49 percent. On a weekly basis, the index gained 0.87 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips declined 0.47 percent to close at 1,460.65 points. Mid-caps dropped 0.04 percent and small-caps gained 0.09 percent. Among the blue chips that ended with gains were Duty Free Shops (up 1.82 percent to 13.42 euros), jewelry maker Folli-Follie (1.82 percent to 22.20 euros), metals group Viohalco (1.22 percent to 6.62 euros) and Alpha Bank (0.76 percent to 24 euros). Losers included OTE Telecom (1.44 percent to 12.30 euros), electricity utility PPC (1.34 percent to 20.62 euros) and betting company OPAP (1.23 percent to 19.26 euros). Out of the 349 traded shares, 140 gained, 157 declined and 52 ended unchanged. Turnover dropped to 188.91 million euros, including 46.19 million in prearranged trades of share blocks. The bourse’s total capitalization stood at 92.12 billion euros.
