Athens market remained trammeled by concerns and uncertainty on Wednesday, as the General Index moved downwards for a eighth consecutive meeting. Greek Banks ended with losses of 4.6%. National Bank closed at €4.31.
ASE moved around 1,200 units in the wake of the downgrade of Ireland’s ratings by Moody’s late Tuesday, although the General Index attempted to reverse in green at the middle of the session. However, speculation about a new downgrade of Greek ratings dragged it to a new low since February 1997, while Greek banks also plunged to almost 15-year lows. When a positive report by Fitch about Italy was released, it was too late for Athens Stocks to follow the upward reaction of international markets. What is needed is more political and less economic analysis as currently the market hangs on political developments, Vassilis Sotiropoulos, analyst at Guardian Trust Securities, told Capital.gr.
The market, “disappointed” for a long time, seeks for support in developments like the summit that is said to take place on Friday, he added. However, “we must not forget that market is mainly companies, which should also show ...something in the future”, Vassilis Sotiropoulos commented.
Any sign of change of the scene over time with even a minimal increase in state revenue, deficit reducing and recession decline would stimulate the market, as it always moves faster than the results, the analyst added.
On the board, the General Index ended close to session low with losses of 2.15% at 1,190.30 units, moving into negative territory throughout the trading. Intraday losses reached 2.61%.On Wednesday, approximately 30 million units worth €82.5 million traded, while a total amount of 102 shares ended in negative territory, 41 rose and 117 remained unchanged. Banking index fell by 4.66% at 819.50 units, with all of its shares in red. ATEbank recorded the largest losses (-14.67%), while Attica Bank, Proton, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank and Eurobank lost more than 5%.
