Local stocks end up on the month
The Athens Stock Exchange failed to hold on to early gains and ended slightly lower at the end of August’s last session. Turnover more than doubled, but it was the result of auctions, in which investors liquidated their early gains.
The general index ended at the intra-session low of 633.98 points, a drop of 0.08%, after rising as much as 1.19%. Turnover was €60.11 million.
Blue chips dropped 0.28% but mid-caps gained 1.17%. Banks were off 1.42%, with the sectoral index closing at 325.35. National Bank lost 3.35%, Piraeus Bank 1.87%, Eurobank 0.76% and Alpha Bank 0.43%.
During August, the general index gained 2.65%, blue chips were up 1.87% and banks 7.43%. For the year to date, the general index is down by more than 30% and banks have declined 63%.
Brokers Leon Depolas believe the stock market has upside due to expectations of government tax cuts and the favorable climate on international markets. On the other hand, they say, tension with Turkey and the possibility of an incident cannot be discounted.
“We expect a gradual increase in volatility and trading volume, with an upward trend,” they said.
