ATHEX: Banks' slide gaining speed

The Greek stock market's banks index continued its decline on Monday, posting a 3.52 percent drop to a three-month low and weighing heavily on the bourse's benchmark and the blue chip index, on what was a day of international market unrest due to concerns over North Korea.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 808.88 points, shedding 1.19 percent from Friday's 818.66 points. The large-cap FTSE-26 index contracted 1.09 percent to 2,128.99 points.

Banks remain under the dark cloud of the International Monetary Fund's demand for an asset quality review, which yesterday saw Attica falling 6.59 percent, Piraeus dropping 5.33 percent, Eurobank giving up 3.89 percent and National conceding 3.60 percent. Heading north were Lamda Development (2.82 percent) and OTE telecom (0.57 percent).

In total 39 stocks posted gains, 56 took losses and 26 stayed unchanged.<...