Market ends up stable ahead of Easter break
Stocks barely moved yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), in a low-key session marked by low turnover and relatively few fluctuations. The ASE composite share index closed at 4,693.44 points, a drop of 2.33 points or 0.05 percent. On a weekly basis, it gained 1.08 percent, boosting the gains this year to 6.81 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index of blue chips declined 0.22 percent to close at 2,511.40 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 0.85 percent and 0.86 percent respectively. The FTSE/Athex International declined 0.06 percent, closing at 6,687.98 points. Fourteen of 17 sectoral indices gained. The exceptions were construction and materials (down 1.07 percent), travel and leisure (0.24 percent) and banks (0.23 percent). The top gainers were chemicals (higher 3.15 percent), insurance (2.96 percent) and industrial goods and services (1.64 percent). Among blue chips, the top gainers were Emporiki Bank (up 2.55 percent to 20.92), metals group Viohalco (1.47 percent to 12.42) and National Bank (1.47 percent to 41.50). The top losers were construction group Hellenic Technodomiki (less 3.21 percent to 10.84), Alpha Bank (2.89 percent to 22.86) and EFG Eurobank (1.92 percent to 30.60). Turnover reached 240.01 million, including 14.16 million in prearranged trades.
