Early gains erased as construction stocks rise
Stocks failed to hold on to early gains on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) yesterday as investors liquidated their gains in blue chips. As a result, the ASE general index closed at 2,919.93 points, a decline of 34.13 points or 1.16 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips declined 1.27 percent to close at 1,612.86 points, while mid- and small-caps gained 0.28 percent and 0.96 percent respectively. The session was marked by heightened interest in construction stocks, as the market was awaiting the opening of bids for 13 public projects worth a total of 1.2 billion euros, most concerning the Egnatia Highway. Hardest hit among blue chips were metals group Viohalco (down 4.20 percent to 6.84 euros), Hellenic Petroleum (3.36 percent to 8.64 euros), Emporiki (2.42 percent to 24.98 euros), CosmOTE (2.28 percent to 14.54 euros), OTE (1.72 percent to 13.68 euros), EFG Eurobank (1.51 percent to 24.74 euros) and Alpha Bank (1.37 percent to 25.88 euros). By contrast, construction group Hellenic Technodomiki TEV gained 5.31 percent to close at 4.36 euros. Out of 358 traded stocks, 190 gained, 114 declined and 54 ended unchanged. Turnover rose to 277.06 million euros, including 45.5 million euros in prearranged trades.
