ATHEX: Banks drag benchmark into the red

Bank stocks compromised any determination by traders to see a rebound in the Greek bourse on Monday, as they dragged the benchmark and the blue chip index marginally into negative territory, although most other stocks stocks ended the day in the black. The session had a predictably low turnover, given that it was Independence Day in the US.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 805.55 points, shedding just 0.03% from Friday’s 805.79 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.07%, ending at 1,928.16 points, while mid-caps advanced 0.28%.

The banks index declined 1.72%, as Alpha gave up 3.31%, Piraeus dropped 2.49%, Eurobank parted with 1.31% and National eased 0.17%.

Mytilineos conceded 3.56%, Viohalco was down 1.93% and Lamda Development conceded 1.91%, but OTE telecom advanced 2.92%, Jumbo collected 2.12% and EYDAP improved 1.97%.

In total 41 stocks posted gains, 51 suffered losses and 24 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 39.7 million euros, down from last Friday’s €55.7 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.34% to close at 67.64 points.