ATHEX: Moderate drop for stock benchmark

The Greek stock market had largely taken for granted the credit rating upgrade by Fitch Ratings last Friday, so on Monday it showed a mixed picture as the losers narrowly outnumbered the gainers and the main index came of a three-month high to post a small drop, along with the banks index. A handful of blue chips contained the benchmark's losses, while mid-caps continued their advance.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,275.34 points, shedding 0.37% from Friday's 1,280.11 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.67%, ending at 3,093.41 points, but mid-caps expanded 0.98%.

The banks index declined 1.10%, as National sank 1.78%, Eurobank parted with 1.26% and Alpha gave up 0.96%, while Piraeus improved 0.43%. Helleniq Energy shrank 1.72%, Aegean Airlines conceded 1.56%, Cenergy Holdings lost 1.41%, just as EYDAP grabbed 1.50%.

In total...