Sellers outpace buyers after three-day rally
The negative climate internationally sent most Greek stocks lower yesterday, reversing the gains registered after three positive days. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 4,320.67 points yesterday from 4,424.70 points on Thursday, a significant drop of 2.35 percent. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index fell by 2.64 percent, reaching 2,261.18 points. The mid-cap FTSE/ATHEX 40 index shrank by 1.80 percent, while the small-cap FTSE/ATHEX 80 index posted a more moderate decline of 0.74 percent. The FTSE/ATHEX International was down 2.49 percent to 6,024.15 points. The biggest losses among blue chips were for the Bank of Cyprus (down 4.57 percent), Mytilineos (4.18 percent), Marfin Investment Group (3.73 percent), Alpha Bank (3.70 percent) and National Bank (3.53 percent). The only blue chip to record gains yesterday was Marfin Popular Bank, with a very respectable rise of 2.60 percent. Mass media (up 0.23 percent) was the only sectoral index not to move southward. Leading losers were financial services (down 3.33 percent) and petroleum (3.27 percent). Turnover reached -332.54 million, of which -48.67 million concerned block trades. The Cypriot General Market Index declined by 0.54 percent to 3,887.65 points.
