BoG strike closes stock exchange in Greek first
For the first time ever, the Greek bourse remained shut for the entire day yesterday due to industrial action in another organization, the Bank of Greece. To the utter dismay and surprise of local and foreign investors, the Athens stock exchange was unable to operate without the electronic support supplied by the country’s central bank, while interbank transactions were also impossible yesterday. Kathimerini understands there is a backlog of more than 160 million euros’ worth of trading that has not been cleared yet from the sessions of February 27 and 28. On the other hand, and despite the battering to the bourse’s credibility, it may be to the local market’s benefit to remain shut while international markets are facing a crisis due to an atmosphere of uncertainty that is evident across the world. It remains unknown whether the market will reopen tomorrow but, if it does, its general index will start from the 4,053.06 points it fell to on Monday after the less than three hours of trading managed on that day. The Cyprus Stock Exchange, however, operated as normal yesterday and posted gains of 1.21 percent, closing at 3,148.86 points. The prices listed on this page concern Monday’s closing figures.
