ATHEX: Stocks slipping closer toward 1,400 points

The Greek stock market saw its decline from Tuesday accelerate on Wednesday, with banks and several other blue chips bringing the bourse's benchmark close to the 1,400-point level. Uncertainty both domestically - as described by the Monetary Policy Report of the Bank of Greece - and abroad with the elections in France and the UK in the next few days are adding to traders' reluctance to buy.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,406.24 points, shedding 0.97% from Tuesday's 1,420.06 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 1.08%, ending at 3,405.32 points.

The banks index conceded 1.71%, on National giving up 2.46%, Eurobank falling 2.02%, Piraeus easing 0.71% and Alpha sliding 0.54%. Motor Oil dropped 5.25%, Metlen parted with 3.42% and Athens International Airport shrank 1.90%, while OPAP advanced 2.97% and Titan Cement earned 2.07%.

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