Buoyancy fizzles out; blue chips on a slide
Greek stocks had luckluster performance in thin trade yesterday, in line with a subdued mood on foreign markets. Blue chips headed south but mid-caps and small-caps showed gains. Insurance stocks gained the most, with industrial products and services and raw materials continuing their climb. The benchmark Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index nudged down 0.13 percent to 4.972.34 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index shed 0.14 percent to 2,647.97 points, while the mid-cap and small-cap indices rose 0.46 percent and 0.33 percent respectively. The FTSE/ATHEX International was down 0.05 percent. Metallurgy firm Viohalco outperformed among blue chips for a second straight day, climbing 2.33 percent, Eurobank added 1.96 percent, Cosmote advanced 1.82 percent, Titan rose 1.20 percent and Postal Savings Bank was 1.19 percent higher. Public Power Corporation rose to a new historic high of -24.54, while Hellenic Petroleum and banks Alpha, Emporiki, Cyprus and Piraeus also headed north. By contrast, Coca-Cola HBC slumped 4.32 percent after hefty recent gains, and National Bank was down 1.47 percent. Hellenic Technodomiki, Intralot and OPAP also ended in negative territory. Turnover reached -337.92 million, of which -106.62 million was in block trades.
