Small-caps steal the show as National slips
Small- and mid-caps would have carried the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index well into positive territory yesterday were it not for the pressure on heavyweight National Bank, which accounted for over a fifth of turnover and shed 1.59 percent. Instead, the index edged just 0.02 percent higher to 3,944.06 points. The blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 index closed 0.48 percent lower; the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 was 1.98 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 added 1.55 percent. Most sectoral indices headed north, led by insurance (3.24 percent), technology (2.77 percent) and personal and household products (2.10 percent). In contrast, food and beverages was 2.37 percent down and banks declined 0.25 percent. Intracom outperformed among blue chips, surging 3.91 percent higher; ATEbank won 1.90 percent; Motor Oil was 1.42 percent higher and Titan added 1.19 percent. Alpha Bank, Eurobank, Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic Petroleum also ended higher. Among the losers, Coca-Cola HBC tumbled 3.25 percent lower, Emporiki lost 1.24 percent and OPAP 1.00 percent. Turnover totaled 196.9 million euros, of which 78.4 million was accounted for by the four most marketable shares: National Bank, OPAP, ATEbank and OTE.
