Little hope for a healthy rebound
The moderate rebound staged by Greek stocks on Thursday and Friday was not enough to offset the significant losses they had incurred in the first three days of last week. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended the week at 3,302.46 points, down by 3.55 percent from the previous week’s close of 3,424.16 points. Observers note that never before has the Athens market seen such a sharp pace of decline in most stocks, the value of which has dropped by about 70 billion euros since the start of the year. The flight of foreign portfolios, the sell-off of bank stocks and other blue chips and the complete absence of local institutional or private investors are the main factors for the continuing bearish mood on the Greek bourse, which, moreover, is likely to continue into the coming week. Optimistic analysts suggest that the capital invested during Thursday’s healthy rise was «specialized funds» from specific investing circles and this may well be repeated if the general climate does not take a turn for the worse abroad.
