Stocks end month flat; banks fizzle
Greek stocks ended flat yesterday, failing to maintain the upward trajectory seen over much of the session after National Bank denied being involved in any takeover activity. Brokers said local stocks headed south during late trade in line with weakness shown on major European bourses due to disappointing news from the US job market. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index ended at 1,434.22 points, off 0.01 percent, after showing gains of nearly 3 percent in mid-session trade. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index firmed 0.32 percent to 674.76 points. Banks rose 1.40 percent, trimming earlier gains of some 4 percent. Bank of Cyprus gained 3.45 percent to 3.30 euros and Piraeus Bank also outperformed, rising 3.87 percent to 3.49 euros. Among the blue chip losers was betting company OPAP, which slipped 2.11 percent to 10.21 euros, and power company PPC, which closed at 11.78 euros, off 3.28 percent for the day. OTE telecom shed 1.50 percent to 6.20 euros and construction group Ellaktor dropped 3.50 percent to 2.76 euros. Turnover reached 115.7 million euros.
