Stocks give up 3.4 pct; TT shines
The Athens bourse fell more than 3 percent yesterday on across-the-board losses, as falling European peers increased selling pressure. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index dropped 3.42 percent to 1,544.23 points, ending close to session lows. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index dipped 3.39 percent to end at 753.54 points. Banks shed 3.40 percent. National Bank eased 1.94 percent to 10.10 euros and Piraeus Bank plunged 5.92 percent to 4.13 euros. Hellenic Postbank (TT) outperformed, jumping 5.40 percent to 4.49 euros. ATEbank eased 0.92 percent to 1.08 euros. Refinery Motor Oil gave up 1 percent to 7.92 euros. After the close of trade yesterday, the company reported an 81 percent drop in first-half net profits to 19.5 million euros. Fourlis Holdings, the Greek franchisee for furniture maker IKEA, dipped 2.82 percent to 6.90 euros. Late yesterday, the company said its first-half profits fell to 2.1 million euros, from 13.4 million euros in the same period last year, hit by a one-off government tax. Turnover reached 106.4 million euros from 51.5 million in the previous session.
