Stocks dip; NBG continues slide
The Athens bourse lost almost 1 percent yesterday, falling below the 1,600-point mark, as index heavyweight National Bank (NBG) continued its slide. The Athens Exchange’s benchmark general index shed 0.91 percent to close at 1,589.18 points, a six-year low. Banks eased 1.08 percent, while lenders Eurobank and Piraeus added 0.45 and 0.44 percent respectively. NBG followed up Tuesday’s 9 percent slide by losing an additional 3.5 percent yesterday to close at 11 euros. Coca-Cola Hellenic also racked up further losses after its 2008 earnings, released on Tuesday, fell well short of market expectations. Its shares ended yesterday at a session low of 8.92 euros, off 7.6 percent. Turnover reached 154.2 million euros versus 163 million euros in the previous session.