Market climbs down from 80-month high
Stocks declined yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) as investors locked in gains from the previous eight sessions, during which the market gained 5.44 percent to reach 80-month highs. The ASE compound share index closed at 4,584.23 points, a drop of 18.10 points or 0.39 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index of blue chips declined 0.36 percent to close at 2,500.01 points. Mid-caps gained 0.72 percent and small-caps declined 0.57 percent. The FTSE/Athex International declined 0.22 percent, closing at 6,550.11 points. Nine of 17 sectoral indices declined. The top gainers were health (up 1.30 percent), raw materials (0.73 percent) and financial services (0.60 percent). The top losers were telecoms (down 1.84 percent), chemicals (1.62 percent) and travel and leisure (1.40 percent). Among blue chips, the top gainers were Bank of Cyprus (up 2.91 percent to -11.32), Postal Savings Bank (2.13 percent to -18.22), ATEbank (1.91 percent to -4.26) and Piraeus Bank (1.76 percent to -25.50). The biggest losers were mobile telecoms company Cosmote (down 2.46 percent to -23.02), betting company OPAP (2.23 percent to -29.82), telecommunications firm OTE (1.64 percent to -24.00) and jewelry and accessories maker and retailer Folli-Follie (1.27 percent to -31.10). Turnover reached 458 million, including 53.61 million in prearranged trades.
