Losses trimmed despite shadow of Intracom affair
Late-session bargain hunting helped trim losses on the Athens bourse yesterday as the market ended off 0.37 percent, still feeling the pinch from news that Intracom’s CEO would face a legal investigation. Brokers said Intracom’s 16-percent slide on Tuesday shook investors but added the market was oversold and showed signs of recovery. «It was a good finish to the day. Blue chips had fallen to levels rarely seen,» said Petros Tegopoulos, analyst at Axon Securities. The Athens benchmark general index recaptured 2,400 points, ending at 2,409.26 points, off 0.37 percent. Blue-chip Intracom finished up 0.81 percent at 9.94 euros. Its CEO, Socrates Kokkalis, has denied any wrongdoing. Intracom’s affiliated companies also recovered from heavy losses on Tuesday as Intracom Construction rose 0.47 percent to 4.30 euros and Intralot jumped 5.71 euros to 17.78 euros. The FTSE/ASE index of blue chips shed 0.31 percent to 1,311.25 points. The FTSE/ASE-40 index of mid-caps slipped 0.34 percent and small-caps firmed 0.32 percent. Total turnover was 114.32 million euros on volume of 19.6 million shares.(Reuters) Drachma countdown
