All eyes now on the gov’t measures
In what was one of the most painful weeks for the local bourse this year, along with the second week of March, the country’s market capitalization lost no less than 7 billion euros following Greece’s downgrade by Fitch and the torrent of worrying signals from various sources. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed the week on Friday at 2,160.68 points, registering a considerable decline of 9.35 percent from the previous week’s close at 2,383.62 points. Bank stocks once again came under the greatest pressure, with the four big banks (National, Alpha, Eurobank, Piraeus) enduring nightmarish sessions for most of the week, as their losses were significant both in terms of value percentage and negative turnover. The new week will depend heavily on what the government announces at the meetings that Prime Minister George Papandreou is scheduled to have today with the social partners and tomorrow at the council of party leaders. He is set to outline the additional measures the government intends to take.
