Can ATHEX reclaim 3,300-point level?
The stock market had seemed destined to end the week with major losses but the bourse’s rebound on Friday changed everything. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 3,209.26 points on Friday, with a daily rise of 8.68 percent and a weekly increase of 3.17 percent. However the small-cap index closed with a decline of 4.83 percent for the week. Observers note that the question now is whether the general index will be able to move above the 3,300-point level, where the index has been trapped since December 2007. The massive upswing of last Friday may have healed some of the wounds that had opened over the last few weeks, but has done little to restore long-term optimism about the future of the local bourse. The hard times that are being felt by overseas banks have not entirely left Greek credit companies unaffected, with cash flow being a problem, accelerating moves toward mergers and acquisitions. In recent days, rumors have been circulating about a National Bank move on Bank of Cyprus or Piraeus Bank.
