Cloudy atmosphere weighs on bourse
The nebulous picture of the Greek economy is weighing heavily on the local bourse. Uncertainty has resulted in more profit-taking as concerns grow across the market. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed the week last Friday at 2,033.76 points, recording a 5.17 percent rise from the previous week’s close at 2,144.56 points. Three weeks into the new year, the market appears susceptible to profiteering assaults as it does not have the domestic investment capital to react to the fresh wave of selling that mostly hurts Greek banks. Last week, the pretext for more stock sales was the warning by the main international ratings agencies – Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s – while the growing spreads between the Greek 10-year bond and the German bund have increased worries about whether Greece will be able to complete its borrowing program. The question now is for how long the main index will be able to maintain the psychological threshold of 2,000 points.
