ATHEX: Traders face another bull trap

For yet another day the Greek stock market proved a bull trap on Monday, as it once again started off with gains, boosted by the strong showing of markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai, but as the day went on growth gave way to losses, with the benchmark eventually yielding significant ground. Energy stocks led the decline, with National Bank one of just a handful of blue chips that managed to stay afloat until the close.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 823.18 points, shedding 1.40% from Friday’s 834.83 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 1.26%, ending at 1,977.89 points.

The banks index conceded 1.20%, as Piraeus slumped 3.89%, Alpha sank 2.64% and Eurobank slipped 0.11%, while National edged up 0.03%. PPC dived 4.59%, ADMIE Holdings fell 4.59% and Mytilineos lost 3.65%, as OPAP advanced 0.65%.

In total 28 stocks reported gains, 62 suffered losses and 21 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 40.3 million euros, down from last Friday’s €64 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.09% to close at 69.16 points.