ATHEX: Bourse creaks under credit sector sell-off

Greek stocks took a tumble on Monday on the heels of the German election result and ahead of statements by ECB governor Mario Draghi about bringing forward a stress test for local banks.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 742.49 points, shedding 4.06 percent from Friday's 773.94 points. The large-cap FTSE-26 index contracted 4.35 percent to end at 1,956.85 points.

The banks index plunged 11.76 percent as all stocks in the sector headed south: Piraeus Bank was the worst off, slumping 15.79 percent, with Eurobank a close second, down 15.48 percent. Attica fell 13.24 percent, National conceded 11.88 percent and Alpha gave up 8.33 percent.

All but two blue chips ended lower, with Viohalco dropping 5.37 percent and Public Power Corporation down 4.83 percent. Sarantis and Piraeus Port Authority bucked the trend, advancing 1.44 percent and 0.20 percent...