Stock price slide gathers momentum

After slipping off sellers’ radar in recent days, banks were back at the forefront yesterday as local stocks headed south in the strongest sign to date that investors are simply not convinced that the Greek economy is set to stage a full recovery.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 830.21 points, shedding 1.52 percent from Tuesday’s 843.05 points. The largecap FTSE-26 index fell 1.32 percent to 2,159.36 points.

Rumors of an upcoming reverse split of the Piraeus Bank stock led to a 6.49 percent contraction that contributed toward a 4.27 percent drop for the banks index. Attica gave up 5.36 percent, Eurobank conceded 4.50 percent, Alpha decreased 3.54 percent and National was down 3.49 percent.

A handful of blue chips resisted the pressure and registered gains, led by Sarantis (up 2.48 percent), Fourlis Holdings (2.31 percent) and Coca-Cola HBC (1.17 percent).

In total 33 stocks went up, 74 sustained losses and 20 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 73.4 million euros, up from Tuesday’s 72.7 million.

In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange dropped 0.03 percent to close at 75.75 points.