Investors cash in bank gains
The Greek bourse’s rally that began at the start of this week came to an end halfway through yesterday’s session, as investors cashed in the 6.4 percent gains made on Monday and Tuesday. However this mostly concerned blue chips, as mid- and small-caps were on the rise. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,688.00 points yesterday, posting a small drop of 0.26 percent from Tuesday’s close at 1,692.35 points, despite having risen by as much as 1.11 percent during the course of the day. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index declined by 0.72 percent to end at 838.09 points. By contrast, the FTSE/ATHEX 40 mid-cap index rose 0.89 percent and the FTSE/ATHEX 80 small-cap gained 0.55 percent. While most banks posted a decline, with National Bank dropping 3.47 percent, non-bank blue chips ended with gains: Jumbo rose 6.17 percent and Mytilineos added 5.11 percent. A total of 105 stocks moved up, with Atlantic supermarkets having a limit-up at 20 percent higher, 70 went down, as Vell Group shed 19.64 percent, and 54 remained unchanged. Turnover came to 144.4 million euros, considerably lower than Tuesday’s 227.3 million.
