ATHEX: Index eases amid investor distraction

The Greek bourse played second fiddle to the bond and treasury bill markets on Wednesday, attracting limited attention from traders. It fell to bank stocks to keep the stock market going and contain the benchmark’s losses after the 16-month high it had climbed to on Tuesday.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 913.34 points, shedding just 0.02% from Tuesday’s 913.48 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.03% to close at 2,219.48 points.

The banks index, however, expanded 1.85%, as Piraeus improved 2.98%, Alpha grew 2.61% and Eurobank collected 2.44%, while National eased 0.48%.

Ellaktor soared 4.03% and Fourlis Holdings earned 2.03%, as gaming company OPAP decreased 1.83%, GEK Terna gave up 1.23%, Jumbo parted with 1.21%, Coca-Cola HBC shrank 1.14% and Mytilineos was down 1.05%.

In total 43 stocks enjoyed gains, 56 took losses and 31 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 76.1 million euros, up from Tuesday’s €68.8 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.02% to close at 63.40 points.