ATHEX: Bank stocks slide 4.2 pct

The political turmoil in Greece and declines seen on other eurozone bourses weighed on the benchmark at the Greek stock market on Monday, although losses were reined in to less than 1 percent during the closing auctions. This was thanks to the help from non-bank blue chips that offset most of the impact from the banking sector drop.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 629.88 points, shedding 0.92 percent from Friday’s 635.70 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.49 percent to 1,677.29 points, but the small-caps index expanded 0.23 percent.

The banks index slumped 4.17 percent, with both National and Piraeus dropping 5.26 percent, Alpha falling 3.86 percent and Eurobank giving up 3.70 percent. Jumbo climbed 1.32 percent, Coca-Cola HBC improved 1.06 percent and Titan increased 0.98 percent.

In total 37 stocks recorded gains, 52 posted losses and 31 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 24.7 million euros, down from last Friday’s 42.7 million.

In Nicosia the Cyprus Stock Exchange general index conceded 0.37 percent to close at 65.27 points.