Index down 1.45 pct, closer to 2,000 pts
Blue chips dragged the broader market lower yesterday in line with wobbly European stock markets, with bottler Coca-Cola HBC losing over 2 percent ahead of its secondary offering to list in the USA. CCHBC fell 2.15 percent to 15.48 euros, while the benchmark general index lost 1.45 percent to 2,036.89 points. «The market was a bit miserable today with very low turnover if you exclude block trades. We’re one tick away from market lows… There’s a bearish outlook that comes from European bourses and worries about Iraq,» said analyst Haris Papadimitriou at Intersec Securities. Turnover was 93.67 million euros on 21.4 million shares traded. Almost half involved the cross of 17 percent of Bank of Attica by Commercial Bank to the state-owned Postal Savings Bank. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips fell 1.41 percent to 1,040.43 points. Mid-caps fell 1.52 percent, with small-caps down 1.44 percent. Losers beat winners 290 to 33, while 30 shares were unchanged on 353 traded. (Reuters) Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co SA’s announcement that its two largest shareholders will be selling up to 5.5 percent of total outstanding share capital will not affect the company’s ratings. CCHBC is pursuing a listing on the NYSE. (Reuters)
