Index up but some banks take a beating

After a rather energetic start, local stocks saw little in the way of action on Wednesday, as the main index edged slightly higher and trading volume registered its lowest level in seven sessions.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 1,152.32 points, mighty close to the day’s low but still increasing by 0.19 percent from Tuesday’s 1,150.17 points.

The FTSE/ATHEX 25 large-cap index expanded 0.18 percent to close at 370.40 points.

A Barclays report on Greek banks that stressed the high volume of bad loans saw National Bank and Eurobank close at the day’s low, while Alpha was the target of extensive selling in the last couple of hours. Piraeus Bank was the exception, rising 4.11 percent, as Alpha lost 1.78 percent and Eurobank fell 2.32 percent while National’s early gains evaporated, leaving its share price unchanged.

Mytilineos expanded again, this time by 2.58 percent, on the strength of rising international aluminum prices.

In total 61 stocks registered gains, 49 sustained losses and 19 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to just 67.6 million euros, down from Tuesday’s 91.8 million.