Local stocks level as profits are locked in

The Athens Stock Exchange ended essentially stable Wednesday, despite many investors selling to lock in profits from the previous six sessions.

The general index ended up marginally higher, 0.05%, but enough to vault over 870 points (870.24) for the first time since June 10.

Turnover edged up, to 73.19 million euros.

Of the 119 stocks traded, 52 rose, 40 fell and 27 ended with no change.

The blue chip index also gained 0.05%, to 2,109.36 points, while mid-caps added 0.44%. Banks, which had driven the gains in the previous sessions, appeared to be losing momentum, up just 0.25%. Construction group Ellaktor and PPC outperformed all other blue chips, gaining 5.86% and 4.20%, respectively.