Bank earnings worries halt Athens bourse bounce
Investor concerns about first-quarter bank earnings returned yesterday to temper a strong bounceback in the sector a day earlier, casting a pall over the broader market. «Though pressure in banks has eased, the profit-taking today showed there are still concerns,» said analyst Grigoris Karayannopoulos at Cyprus Securities. Banks inched 0.03 percent forward with National Bank up 0.20 percent to 20.04 euros and Alpha Bank easing 0.63 percent to 15.68 euros. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index ended 0.05 percent higher at 2,203.27 points. IT firm Altec ended with gains of 0.56 percent after outperforming early in the session on news it won a 55.2-million-euro contract with Romanian oil firm Petrom. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips added 0.07 percent to 1,159.51 points. The FTSE/ASE-40 index of mid-caps lost 0.06 percent and small-caps gained 0.08 percent. Total turnover came to 74.27 million euros on volume of 15.7 million shares. Losers beat winners 163 to 139 with 48 unchanged on 350 traded. (Reuters) TVX license
