Local stocks susceptible to pressures
The debt crisis continues to inflict serious losses on European bourses, with the Greek market being unable to recover despite the return of the troika to Athens that means the sixth tranche of loans to this country is edging ever closer.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index will start on Monday from 798.42 points, having added just 0.06 percent to its value over the past week. Impressively, banks have lost 60 percent of their value in the first nine months of the year.
With turnover at particularly low levels, it is clear investors are avoiding any positioning in a market that is susceptible to external pressure, while more and more foreign commentators contemplate a Greek default, orderly or not.
The bourse board is now full of penny stocks, with more than 110 listed companies having a valuation that does not even reach 10 million euros. There even are 24 listed firms with a valuation below 3 million euros.
The insurance sectoral index outperformed with weekly gains of 9.09 percent, while the health index lost 30 percent of its value.
