Intralot news unnerves but index holds ground
Greek stocks started on a buoyant mood yesterday but lost steam later over concerns that blue chip lottery systems provider Intralot may lose its Turkish operations after an adverse Turkish court ruling. The company said it is to appeal a decision suspending its right to exclusively manage sports betting for Turkey’s Spor Toto national lottery until 2012. Intralot shares tumbled 14.10 percent lower at -24.36. The Athens Stock Exchange general index edged 0.04 percent lower to 4,676.66 points after overcoming the 4,709-point mark during the session. All capitalization indices headed north, with the blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 adding just 0.04 percent, the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 gaining 0.15 percent and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 up 0.48 percent. Coca Cola HBC, gaming firm OPAP and banks Alpha and National performed well but Public Power Corporation, Motor Oil and OTE telecoms came under strong pressure. Earlier, Morgan Stanley downgraded OTE to «equal-weight» from «overweight.» Most sectoral indices ended in positive territory, led by food & beverages (1.86 percent), while media headed decliners (-2.90 percent). Turnover topped -480.2 million, of which about -160 million was accounted for by Intralot and National Bank.