Stocks lose 5 pct; lenders battered
The Athens bourse tumbled more than 5 percent yesterday, underperforming weak European peers, as banks took heavy losses. The Athens Exchange’s benchmark general index gave up 5.19 percent to end at 1,603.80 points. European stock markets fell sharply yesterday after credit ratings agency Moody’s warned about potentially massive losses to leading banks exposed to the fragile economies in Eastern Europe. Shares in Greek banks fell 6.32 percent. National Bank slumped 9.38 percent to 11.40 euros. Marfin Popular Bank also fell, losing 6.10 percent to close at 1.54 euros. Turnover reached 163.5 million euros versus 75.4 million in the previous session.
