Slight index decline as a result of profit-taking
Stocks declined slightly yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), despite the upward trend in other European markets, as investors sold some of their holdings in blue chips and small-caps. The ASE general index closed at 3,496.87 points, a drop of 4.34 points or 0.12 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips declined 0.20 percent to close at 1,948.57 points. Mid-caps gained 0.32 percent and small-caps declined 0.50 percent. Several blue chips posted gains, including construction group Hellenic Technodomiki (up 3.92 percent to 4.24 euros), Duty Free Shops (0.70 percent to 14.42 euros), metals group Viohalco (0.69 percent to 5.86 euros), mobile telecommunications service provider CosmOTE (0.54 percent to 18.60 euros), betting company OPAP (0.44 percent to 27.10 euros) and telecoms firm OTE (0.33 percent to 18 euros). By contrast, losses were sustained by ATE Bank (down 2.38 percent to 4.92 euros), electronics retailer Germanos (1.44 percent to 13.70 euros), telecommunications equipment manufacturer Intracom (1.16 percent to 5.10 euros) and EFG Eurobank (1.14 percent to 27.68 euros). Of 339 traded stocks, 113 gained, 159 declined and 67 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 228.14 million euros, including 37.63 million in prearranged trades.
