Stocks keep falling for fourth day
Greek stocks kept sliding yesterday, falling for the fourth straight session, despite moderate gains on major European peers. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index fell 1.49 percent to 1,527.60 points, bringing losses in the last month to 17.6 percent. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index dropped 1.96 percent to end at 730.29 points. Index heavyweight banking stocks fell 2.25 percent. Piraeus Bank shed 2.20 percent to end at 4 euros after Credit Suisse cut its price target on the stock to 4.20 euros, from 4.70 euros previously, while keeping its underperform rating on the bank. Betting company OPAP slumped 5.02 percent to 12.30 euros and oil refinery Hellenic Petroleum ended at 5.61 euros, off 4.92 percent. The small-cap FTSE/ATHEX 80 index underperformed, dropping 2.90 percent. Power company PPC ranked among the winners, gaining 2.38 percent to 12.90 euros, along with Coca-Cola Hellenic, which rose 2.09 percent to 18.57 euros. Turnover in Athens reached 106.3 million euros, rising from 63.5 million in the previous session. Major European bourses were advancing by around half a percentage point in late trade yesterday.
