Decline continues on bourse
The local stock market continued its downward spiral yesterday with across-the-board losses and limited turnover amid bearish sentiment on global markets. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,525.53 points yesterday, dropping 2.83 percent from Monday’s close at 1,569.99 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index fell 3.09 percent to end at 722.08 points. The small-cap index had a more moderate decline of 0.99 percent. All blue chips wound up heading south yesterday, led by Viohalco (down 8.67 percent), Hellenic Postbank (5.61 percent), Piraeus Bank (4.16 percent), OTE telecom (3.99 percent) and Titan cement (3.90 percent). Deutsche Bank reduced its target price for Hellenic Petroleum from 7.70 to 6.20 euros, with a «hold» recommendation, and cut that of Hellenic Exchanges from 6.50 to 5.70 euros, again putting a «hold» recommendation on it. ING upgraded Titan from «hold» to «buy.» Losers outnumbered gainers, with 116 stocks falling, 54 going up and 46 staying put. ANEK Lines had the biggest gains, growing by 25 percent, while fabric company Elfico was the worst off with losses of 16.67 percent. Turnover came to 82.1 million euros.