ATHENS: Disappointment from Fitch’s report, which did not raise Greece’s credit rating last Friday, and from a German press report that the next bailout disbursement is not coming anytime soon, put an end to a growth streak on the local bourse, which saw exceptionally low trading volume on Monday, partly due to the US holiday.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 578.27 points, shedding 0.66 percent from Friday’s 582.13 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.98 percent to end at 1,554.77 points.
Fitch on Friday affirmed its ‘CCC’ rating for Greece, letting down several bank stock investors, but the positive news of the deal for the Marinopoulos supermarket chain signed on Saturday made the rest of the market less uneasy. The next key date now is this Friday’s Eurogroup.
Banks underperformed with their index falling 2.74 percent. Eurobank lost 3.23 percent and Alpha gave up 2.72 percent. Piraeus Port Authority rose 1.52 percent.
In total 32 stocks enjoyed gains, 49 endured losses and 19 remained unchanged. Turnover amounted to just 18.3 million euros, down from last Friday’s 30.4 million.
In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange declined 0.41 percent to close at 68.20 points.
