Index flat as early gains evaporate
The main index of the local bourse ended flat at the close yesterday, as many stocks which had posted gains at the start of the week’s first session saw them wiped out by the end of it. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,527.58 points, remaining virtually unchanged from last Friday’s close at 1,527.62 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index grew by 0.24 percent to end at 727.92 points. The market was unable to hold onto early gains despite the favorable climate on most European bourses and turnover remained at a very low level, at just 54.6 million euros. Some suggest the downward spiral will resume once the positive climate on international markets starts to wane. On this rather muted day of trading, the biggest rise among blue chips was posted by the stocks of National Bank (up 1.76 percent), followed by Marfin Investment Group (0.92 percent) and OPAP (0.89 percent). Leading the losers were Coca-Cola HBC (down 1.99 percent), Bank of Cyprus (1.76 percent) and Jumbo (1.27 percent). A total of 81 stocks went up, 75 headed south and 55 remained unchanged. Alko led the gainers with a 9.43 percent rise, and Klonatex was the worst off, down 14.29 percent.
