Bearish mood prevails on bourse
The local stock market was closed yesterday due to the holiday but all signs point to yet another negative opening to the week today, as the mood on global markets remained bearish following last week’s downward course. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed the week last Friday at 1,595.10 points, recording a 3.81 percent drop over the previous week’s close at 1,658.29 points. This was the largest weekly decline in the last 20 months. Since the start of the year, the index has declined by 27.37 percent. Investors on the local bourse seemed nervous last week due to the euro’s decline to a four-year low and under the burden of negative rumors about the eurozone. At the same time, financial reports presently being published by listed companies for the year’s first quarter leave little room for optimism. The question now is what the market can do to avoid the downward spiral it has entered over the last few months and to try to stem further losses. Weekly turnover added up to 648.62 million euros, for an average daily amount of 129.7 million euros, down from the previous week’s 168.8 million.
