Small-caps moderate general index losses
Stocks on the Athens bourse continued their decline for the third session in a row yesterday, amid an bearish international mood, although small-caps provided some strong resistance, as several of those stocks are the focus of business developments. The Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 4,777.21 points, 0.59 percent lower than Wednesday’s 4,805.38 points, although it saw a midsession low of 4,717.97 points. The FTSE/ATHEX 20 blue chip index fell 0.54 percent to close at 2,555.06 points, while the FTSE/ATHEX Mid-40 dropped by 0.81 percent. However, the FTSE/ATHEX 80 small-cap index gained 0.61 percent. The FTSE/ATHEX International index closed at 6,798.38 points, with losses of 0.59 percent. PPC led the decline among blue chips dropping 2.22 percent, followed by Hellenic Petroleum (down 2.11 percent), Folli-Follie (1.63 percent) and Cosmote (1.21 percent). Intralot bucked the trend with a 1.09 percent rise, along with Coca-Cola HBC (higher 0.80 percent) and Piraeus Bank (0.07 percent). All but three sectoral indices moved southward, with technology leading the way (less 2.14 percent), but mass media registered a notable rise of 1.08 percent. Turnover totaled a considerable -758.8 million, with -397.6 million in prearranged block trades, including the transfer of 26 percent of cement company Heracles for -17 per share.
