Mood swing sees index end lower
Pressure on the stock of National Bank sent the Greek bourse lower yesterday, wiping out gains registered earlier in the day. The negative mood was exacerbated by a Financial Times report suggesting that most analysts expect Greece to go bankrupt. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 1,496.33 points yesterday, shrinking by 1.18 percent from last Friday’s close at 1,514.26 points. However, over the course of the session it had risen as high as 1,534 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index declined by 1.63 percent to end at 725.22 points. National recorded a significant 4.75 percent drop, taking its closing price to 7.62 euros. Bank of Cyprus shed 2.45 percent; Alpha Bank contracted by 2.33 percent and Eurobank EFG fell 1.80 percent. The biggest rises among the blue chips were posted by Hellenic Petroleum (up 2.12 percent) and OPAP gaming company (1.92 percent). A total of 54 stocks went up, 101 headed lower and 69 remained unchanged. There were 26 stocks whose decline exceeded 5 percent. Perseus led the gainers with a 16.67 percent rise, while Maritime of Lesvos registered the biggest losses (down 20 percent). Turnover came to 113.5 million euros.
