National Bank, CCHBC buck blue chip decline
Greek stocks stayed southbound yesterday, but small-caps bucked the trend. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index dropped 0.42 percent to 5,096.04 points, as 29 stocks dropped, 25 rose and six ended unchanged. The FTSE/ATHEX 20 index of the country’s largest companies slipped 0.37 percent to 2,701.75. The mid-cap and small-cap indices shed 0.37 percent and advanced 0.96 percent respectively. Marfin Popular, the second-biggest bank in Cyprus, slumped 3.1 percent, to -9.88. Viohalco dropped 3.01 percent, Public Power Corporation was down 2.02 percent and Piraeus Bank lost 1.37 percent. National Bank and Coca-Cola HBC bucked the declining trend, adding 1.55 percent and 0.72 percent respectively. Forthnet fell 0.2 percent, to -11 euros. The nine-month net loss at Greece’s second-biggest provider of Web services widened to -24.9 million from -9.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Titan Cement declined 0.8 percent, to -31.70. Harry Goad, a London-based analyst at Credit Suisse Group, cut his recommendation to «underperform» from «neutral» for Greece’s biggest cement maker. The target price was also cut to -28 from -38. Turnover totaled -382.46 million. (Kathimerini, Bloomberg)