Stocks drop but hold 2,100 pts
Greek stocks continued to slide yesterday, falling 0.81 percent, but managed to hold the 2,000-point mark with sellers targeting banks. Brokers said concerns that the higher cost of public sector borrowing will increase funding expenses for local lenders, biting into profits, has made the sector less attractive to investors. The Athens bourse benchmark general index ended at 2,013.90 points after dipping to an intrasession low of 1,954 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index retreated by 0.69 percent to 1,013.21 points. Banks shed 2.32 percent, bringing losses this week near 12 percent. Eurobank recorded the steepest loss, falling 5.50 percent to 6.36 euros, while Piraeus Bank dropped 3.32 percent to 6.29 euros. Turnover reached 312.3 million euros versus 231 million previously.
