ATHEX limits early losses, drops 0.25%

The month began with selling pressure on the Athens Stock Exchange, with the general index declining by as much as 1%, before steadying and limiting losses toward the end of the session.

The ATHEX general index ended 0.25% lower, closing at 1,474.44 points. Turnover was pretty high, at €99.33 million. Blue chips dropped 0.12% and mid-caps 0.47%.

The bank sub-index rose 0.13%, recovering from initial losses of up to 1.21%. Piraeus Bank, which announced good first-half results Wednesday, outperformed, gaining 3.18% to close at the intraday high. Investors, however, were not attracted by the National Bank's announcing a highly profitable first half: The stock ended up losing 1.55%, after being down by as much as 2.5%. 

Among non-bank blue chips, just seven posted gains, with construction group Ellaktor (4.70%), Cenergy (2.80%) and OTE Telecom (0.53%) leading.

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