The intention of traders to cash in recent stock gains and the departure of investor John Paulson from Alpha Bank, bringing his stake down to zero, dominated the week’s final session at Athinon Avenue on Friday. The result was a small decline for the main index that dropped below 1,700 points and a major rise in turnover that approached half a billion euros.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,697.11 points, shedding 0.34% from Thursday’s 1,702.82 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 0.21%, rising for a third week in a row.
The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.35%, ending at 4,190.07 points, and the banks index underperformed, dropping 1.46%: National fell 2.41%, Eurobank gave up 2.26%, Alpha parted with 0.78% and Piraeus shied 0.61%, while Optima jumped 4.40%. Sarantis conceded 3.28%, just as OPAP rose 3.64%.
In total 37 stocks collected gains, 64 suffered losses and 20 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to €467.2 million, up from Thursday’s €205.2 million.
In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.02% to close at 241.68 points.