ATHENS: The benchmark of the Athens bourse ended the week on a high, despite banks continuing their descent. They completed six straight weeks of losses on Friday, totaling 39.4 percent. Turnover dropped, and will likely slide further on Monday due to the holiday on Wall Street, although Friday’s positive development concerning Marinopoulos supermarkets should give the market a boost.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 544.76 points, inching up 0.49 percent from Thursday’s 542.12 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 1.87 percent.
The large-cap FTSE 25 index posted marginal gains of 0.01 percent to end at 1,452.06 points, while mid-caps rose 0.74 percent.
The banks index contracted 3.64 percent, as Piraeus Bank fell 4.97 percent, Alpha gave up 4.32 percent, Eurobank shrank 3.64 percent and National lost 1.04 percent. Non-bank large-caps kept the index in the black, with Ellaktor growing 6.15 percent, Folli Follie jumping 5.55 percent and EYDAP rising 3.78 percent. In total 45 stocks recorded gains, 47 sustained losses and 14 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 63.3 million euros, down from Thursday’s 83.8 million. In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange climbed 0.14 percent to close at 65.62 points.
