15pct dive for Athens bourse
The Athens Stock Exchange general index fell 399.03 points, or 15.07 percent, last week to close at 2,248.39 points, a year low. Even though two of the five sessions registered gains, two others, on Wednesday and Friday, when the market dropped 7.74 percent and 5.38 percent, respectively, were crucial. Total trading volume reached 842.44 million euros, representing an average daily turnover of 168.49 million. All Financial Times indices registered losses; the FTSE/ASE-20 index of large-capitalization stocks actually outperformed the market, declining 14.75 percent. On the other hand, the FTSE/ASE-40 of mid-caps lost 19.71 percent and the FTSE/ASE-80 small-caps index, 21.33 percent. All sectoral indices sustained losses. The biggest losses were sustained by printing and publishing (25.69 percent), IT equipment/solutions (25.01 percent) and wholesale trade (22.06 percent). Of the 367 stocks traded, only three registered gains, 362 ended with losses and two remained unchanged. Among individual stocks, the gainers were the preferred shares of VIS (7.50 percent), underwear maker Sex Form (6.62 percent) and the preferred shares of Alisida (1.30 percent). The biggest losses for the week were sustained by Fitco (38.57 percent), Alisida’s common stock (36.87 percent) and Medicon Hellas (36.50 percent). The most heavily traded stocks were OTE Telecom, with an average daily turnover of 19.35 million euros, and insurer Interamerican (8.20 million). Andrew Athens, president of the World Council of Hellenes (SAE) believes it possible that the total will be nearer 20-40 Greek Americans.
