ATHEX: Most bank stocks hit by fresh losses

Most of the early gains registered by Greek stocks were wiped out by the end of Wednesday’s trading session in Athens, with banks and mid-caps posting losses while the benchmark and other blue chips headed north.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 689.59 points, adding 0.42 percent to Tuesday’s 686.68 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.36 percent to 1,811.80 points, while the mid-cap index gave up 0.28 percent.

The banks index returned to the red (down 0.64 percent) at the end of a session that had initially promised more gains. Piraeus sank 3.52 percent, Alpha fell 0.46 percent and National conceded 0.39 percent, as Eurobank improved 0.38 percent.

There were notable gains for Sarantis (up 5.51 percent), Motor Oil (3.80 percent), Hellenic Exchanges (3.04 percent) and Hellenic Petroleum (2.74 percent). Piraeus Port Authority shrank 2.70 percent.

In total 43 stocks headed higher, 48 took losses and 31 were non-movers.

Turnover amounted to 37.4 million euros, down from Tuesday’s 40.8 million.

In Nicosia the Cyprus Stock Exchange general index slipped 0.51 percent to close at 72.82 points.