Investors keep a safe distance
The Athens Stock Exchange suffered through four losing sessions out of five last week. As a result, the composite price index slid 38.56 points, or 1.53 percent from a week earlier, to close at 2,488.78 on Friday. The volume of trading, already low, declined further to 405.38 million euros – a daily average of 81.08 million. Once again, the FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips again was the biggest loser among the FTSE indexes, falling 1.41 percent. The middle and small-capitalization indexes also moved lower, by 0.49 percent and 0.88 percent respectively. Most sectoral indices also fell. Hardest hit were telecommunications and insurance companies, which declined 3.02 percent and 1.96 percent respectively. By contrast, IT solutions and equipment and the non-metallic minerals and cement indexes gained 1.29 percent and 0.99 percent respectively. Of the 369 stocks traded, 180 dropped in value, 150 gained, and 39 remained unchanged. The biggest beneficiaries of the week were the preferred shares of Xifias, which rose 65.96 percent, and VIS, by 39.61 percent. The main losers were the preferred shares of Barba Stathis (12 percent) and Quality and Reliability’s common shares, by 8.82 percent. OTE was the most heavily traded stock with a daily average of 9.79 million euros changing hands. The National Statistics Service to announce the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices.
