Subdued interest makes for year-low turnover
Auctions in blue chips toward the end of the session again saved the day for the Greek stock market yesterday, but the subdued interest still resulted in a new year-low in turnover. A large number of shares were not traded at all while an even larger number were traded in very low volumes. The Athens Stock Exchange general index gained 0.48 percent, closing at 3.633.06 points, the day’s high. All capitalizations gained: the blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 index added 0.65 percent, the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 slipped 0.84 percent and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 edged up 0.02 percent. Heavyweights National Bank and gaming firm OPAP dominated, with a combined turnover of 60.4 million euros out of a total of 128.66 million. Of the total, 23.7 million was accounted for by prearranged block trades. Among blue chips, Coca-Cola HBC continued outperforming, gaining 2.30 percent, Cosmote climbed 2.17 percent, Titan added 1.83 percent, National Bank 1.76 percent and Duty Free Shops 1.34 percent. Alpha Bank, Hellenic Technodomiki, Emporiki, Germanos, Public Power Corporation, Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil also gained. In contrast, Intracom shed 1.95 percent, ATEbank was down 1.09 percent, OPAP lost 0.75 percent and Eurobank slipped 0.27 percent.
