Edgy week, index down

The Athens bourse benchmark share price index ended last week 1.06 percent lower, at 2,102.10 points, after three consecutive weeks of gains. Total turnover reached 545.07 million euros, an average daily value of 109.01 million, compared to 992.74 million euros the week before. Trading during the week was marked by volatility, with alternating moods of optimism and pessimism. UBS’s negative report on OTE Telecom on Wednesday seemed to dampen buying interest and, combined with the downturn of markets abroad, neutralized Tuesday’s upward movement. National Bank’s positive nine-month results on Thursday failed to buoy the market. Of the Financial Times indices, the blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 sustained the strongest pressure, shedding 1.5 percent. The FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 lost 0.93 percent and the FTSE/ASE Mid 40 receded 0.84 percent. Most sectoral indices ended the week lower, led by construction, which declined 4.84 percent. Telecoms and textiles shed 3.12 and 2.93 percent respectively. The biggest of the five gaining indices were IT solutions (1.98 percent) and non-metallic minerals (1.15 percent). In terms of individual stocks, Paperpack-Tsoukaridis and Bitros Holdings led the pack of winners, advancing 31.82 and 23.51 percent respectively, while Naftemporiki and and Cor-Fil fared worst, with cumulative losses of 22.57 and 11.54 percent. The week’s most marketable securities were the Public Power Corporation (which completed its third public offering this week) National Bank and OTE Telecom. Decliners led winners 231 to 117, with 23 unchanged on 371 traded.