ATHEX: Four-digit mark too high to hold, yet

Athinon Avenue saw its benchmark temporarily rise above the 1,000-point mark, but it eventually had to settle for small losses as the recent rise to an eight-year high has not had its fair share of profit-taking yet.

The strong activity in turnover terms and the persistent advance of mid-caps for another day suggest that even if the index ends up in the red on some days, the underlying trend is clearly upward.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 993.91 points, shedding 0.39% from Monday’s 997.81 points. 

The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.59% to end up at 2,406.64 points, but mid-caps expanded 0.76%.

The banks index declined 1.59%, on Eurobank falling 2.42%, Piraeus easing 1.58%, Alpha losing 1.38% and National giving up 0.77%. 

Ellaktor dropped 6.55%, but Viohalco earned 3.01%.

In total 41 stocks posted gains, 66 took losses and 22 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 92.7 million euros, down from Monday’s €129.1 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.13% to close at 95.70 points.