ATHEX: Stock gains evaporate in slow trade

A strangely quiet session at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday saw the benchmark lose all its mediocre gains recorded during the day and end up virtually as a non-mover, while turnover slumped considerably to almost half of the figure its had come to a day earlier. Traders apparently expect some action from the Fed across the Atlantic, while the T-bill auction also absorbed some liquidity.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 900.35 points, slipping 0.01% from Tuesday’s 900.45 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.04%, ending at 2,181.23 points.

The banks index fell 0.16%, as National conceded 1.46%, Piraeus dropped 0.74% and Alpha parted with 0.19%, while Eurobank advanced 1.21%. Ellaktor grew 3.52%, as Quest Holdings shrank 2.18%.

In total 47 stocks recorded gains, 91 suffered losses and 21 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 61.8 million euros, down from Tuesday’s €110 million.

The 13-week treasury bill auction led to Greece drawing €812.5 million and an interest of -0.16%.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.16% to close at 69.24 points.