Greek stocks head south as global jitters spread
Greek stocks headed south yesterday, led by bellwether National Bank and most other heavyweight blue chips in the midst of jitters in global markets. Toy retailer Jumbo paced advancing shares after Deutsche Bank advised investors to buy the stock. Supermarket Alfa-Beta Vassilopoulos also climbed. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) benchmark index lost 0.08 percent, ending at 5,305.79 as 29 stocks retreated, 20 climbed and 11 were unchanged. The FTSE/ATHEX 20 index of the country’s largest companies declined 0.09 percent to 2,836.07. The mid-cap and small-cap indices dropped 0.63 percent and 0.92 percent respectively. The Cypriot General Index fell 0.5 percent to 5,482 points. National Bank, Greece’s biggest lender, fell 0.6 percent to -47.44. Motor Oil outperformed among blue chips, adding 2.46 percent. Coca-Cola HBC followed with gains of 1.33 percent. By contrast, Intralot slumped 1.87 percent and Marfin Popular Bank shed 1.26 percent. Jumbo added 0.4 percent to -25.90. Deutsche Bank rated the toy retailer «buy» in new coverage with a -30.10 price estimate. Alfa-Beta rose 4.3 percent to -30.84, its biggest one-day gain since August 13. The Greek supermarket chain announced that third-quarter profit rose 68 percent as sales increased. (Bloomberg, Kathimerini)
