Investors waiting for M&A news in banking sector
Shares on the Greek stock exchange continued their downward spiral last week, as all five sessions ended with losses for the bourse’s general benchmark index. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index starts off the new week at 1,524.15 points, 4.04 percent below the 1,588.33-point level registered a week earlier. Observers note that unless there is some particularly positive corporate or fiscal news, the main index is likely to drop below the significant 1,500-point level and toward a year-low soon. The only sector that is able to lift the stock market now is the banking sector, with investors still expecting some significant corporate news in the form of mergers and acquisitions. Insurance stocks bucked the trend, with their sectoral index climbing 7.81 percent over the course of the week, while the mass media index declined by 10.52 percent. Daily turnover on the ATHEX averaged 99.3 million euros last week, down from 108.8 million the week before.
