Profit-taking wipes out ASE’s early gains
Stocks declined slightly yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) in a session which again saw medium- and small-capitalization firms outperform blue chips. The ASE composite share price index closed at 4,007.40 points, a drop of 12.52 points or 0.31 percent. During the session, it had reached 4,055.91 points before profit-taking set in. The FTSE/Athex 20 index of blue chips declined 0.29 percent to close at 2,198.67 points, while mid- and small-caps gained 0.48 percent and 0.28 percent respectively. The FTSE/Athex International index declined 0.05 percent to close at 5,514.45 points. Among blue chips, significant gains were recorded by metals group Viohalco (up 3.78 percent to 8.78 euros), electronics retailer Germanos (3.16 percent to 16.98 euros), jewelry maker and retailer Folli-Follie (1.63 percent to 26.12 euros) and Piraeus Bank (1.22 percent to 19.90 euros). By contrast, losses were registered by bottler Coca-Cola HBC (down 4.99 percent to 24 euros), electricity company PPC (3.29 percent to 18.24 euros), refiner Hellenic Petroleum (1.53 percent to 12.88 euros) and National Bank (1.51 percent to 38.02 euros). Out of 325 traded shares, 147 gained, 125 declined and 53 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 555.51 million euros, including 131.2 million in prearranged trades.
