Athens bourse posts second day of losses

The morning gains at the Athens bourse had evaporated by late in the afternoon as Wall Street’s negative opening sent Greek stocks lower on Tuesday, for the second day in a row, with trading volume at a disappointing 27 million euros.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 621.51 points, shedding 0.43 percent from Monday’s 624.20 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.91 percent to end at 181.06 points, but the mid-cap index closed with a 0.36 percent increase.

Investors remained reserved about the election battle, prefering not to position themselves before the dust settles.

Banks led the slide once again, with their sectoral index declining 3.51 percent. National fell 5.38 percent, Piraeus gave up 4.65 percent and Alpha Bank continued its downward spiral, dropping 3.57 percent. Titan Cement added 3.47 percent and Public Power Corporation expanded 3.45 percent.

In total 41 stocks registered gains, 44 suffered losses and 13 ended unchanged.

Turnover amounted to just 26.8 million euros, down from Monday’s 32.3 million.