Athens Stock Exchange recorded new lows on Wednesday, with the General Index at -2.41% and big losses for the banks and the FTSE20. Having gone down to 717.93 points, the ASE is especially vulnerable to the financial crisis within the euro zone. To this one should add the ‘haircut’ of Greek bonds talks in Frankfurt and the uncertainty on the release of the sixth aid tranche.
ASE – Wednesday (Nov 16/11) Report from Capital.gr
Greek General Index, banks and FTSE20 recorded new lows on Wednesday, as the course of the Athens stock market continues to be determined by uncertainty on the release of the sixth instalment and fear of debt crisis contagion to the Eurozone core.
After today’s closing, the Athens Stock Exchange records losses of 49.22% for the year, while losses of banks and FTSE20 amount to 77.62% and 58.38% respectively.
The release of the sixth aid tranche remains the main cause of concern, analysts comment, but also the issue of write-downs on Greek banks’ bond portfolios, because of the new PSI program, and the provisions after the audit of BlackRock on loan portfolios. These factors will determine the need for recapitalization.
Meanwhile, the situation in Europe is deteriorating, as even economies of the European core face increasing borrowing costs.
Moreover, the contraction of the Greek market, which is left vulnerable to short-term moves, preserves concern about the prospects of ASE in the near future, while new support levels are now set at 700 units.
The revision of MSCI indicators weighed also on the markets, as Alpha Bank, Eurobank, Bank of Cyprus and PPC are removed from the composition of MSCI Standard Index and transferred to the MSCI Small Cap. From the latter, Attica Bank, GEKTERNA, Geniki Bank, Piraeus and EYATH are removed.
On the board, the General Index ended with losses of 2.41% at 717.93 points, moving in red throughout the trading session. Approximately 34.26 million units of total value €37.71 million traded on Wednesday, while a total amount of 106 shares declined, 47 rose and 122 remained unchanged.
Only Ellactor and Viohalco ended on positive grounds, across FTSE20, with profits of 4.24% and 1.33% respectively, while Coca Cola 3E remained unchanged.
Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank and Alpha Bank fell by 15.63%, 12.35% and 11.67% respectively, while Marfin Popular Bank plunged by 11.01%. Piraeus Bank and PPC posted losses of 8.7% and 5.86%, while Hellenic Postbank and National Bank declined by 4.6% and 4.3% respectively.
PS It looks as if coalition governments cannot calm the markets….
