Blue chips bear the brunt of correction
Stocks declined yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange, following three sessions during which ASE had gained 2.91 percent to reach its highest level since May 2000. The ASE compound share index closed at 4,612.59 points, a drop of 26.03 points or 0.56 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index of blue chips declined 0.70 percent to close at 2,513.19 points, while mid- and small-caps slipped 0.16 percent and 0.05 percent respectively. The FTSE/Athex International decreased 0.62 percent, closing at 6,605.44 points. Eleven out of 17 sectoral indices fell. The top gainers were chemicals (up 2.30 percent), technology (2.17 percent) and financial services (0.73 percent). The top losers were food and beverages (down 2.14 percent), raw materials (1.32 percent) and health (1.29 percent). Among blue chips, the top gainers were mobile telecoms company Cosmote (up 1.20 percent to 23.62) and refiner Motor Oil (1.11 percent to 19.98), with cement maker Titan and Postal Savings Bank making more modest gains. The top losers were bottler Coca-Cola HBC (down 2.68 percent to 29.10), ATEbank (2.29 percent to 4.26) and National Bank (1.83 percent to 36.50). Turnover reached 382.73 million, including 25.73 million in prearranged trades.
