Stock exchange gives up 5 pct
The Athens bourse slumped more than 5 percent yesterday as the European Commission’s grim outlook for the eurozone and the Greek economy hit market sentiment, particularly in banks. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index fell 5.14 percent to 1,660.04 points, underperforming its European peers that also ended up in negative territory. Greek banks gave up 7.82 percent, led by a 9.73 percent drop in National Bank to 11.50 euros. Lenders Alpha and Piraeus fell 8.03 and 7.12 percent respectively. Coca-Cola HBC, the world’s second-largest bottler of Coke products, bucked the trend, adding 0.38 percent to 10.54 euros. Turnover eased to 121.1 million euros versus 135 million euros in the previous session.
