Profit-taking interrupts five-session win streak
Stocks dropped slightly yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), as investors collected profits following five straight sessions in the black. The market did not overreact to news concerning EU objections to the government’s decision to pay part of the banks’ auxiliary pension fund debts, but turnover was unusually low. The ASE general index closed at 3,077.51 points, a drop of nine points or 0.29 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips declined 0.30 percent to close at 1,736.26 points. Mid-caps gained marginally (0.04 percent), but small-caps receded 0.85 percent. Some blue chips bucked the trend and posted gains. These were OPAP (up 1.73 percent to 21.22 euros), EFG Eurobank (1.56 percent to 26.10 euros), Intracom (1.42 percent to 4.30 euros), Duty Free Shops (0.68 percent to 14.72 euros) and Alpha Bank (24.48 euros). By contrast, others posted losses, including Viohalco (down 3.08 percent to 5.66 euros), Hellenic Technodomiki (2.26 percent to 4.32 euros), Coca-Cola HBC (1.72 percent to 22.88 euros), National Bank (1.49 percent to 29.10 euros), Hellenic Petroleum (1.22 percent to 8.10 euros) and OTE (1.01 percent to 15.72 euros). Of the 331 traded stocks, 78 gained, 177 declined and 76 ended unchanged. Turnover dropped to 135.24 million euros, including 6.91 million in prearranged trades.
