The roller coaster that is the crisis in the Middle East took another sharp turn on Friday morning, sending bourses lower and oil rates higher once again. This gave investors at the Greek stock market the perfect excuse to cash in on some of their recent gains, even if the corporate results that companies, such as OTE and National Bank, report for the year’s first quarter would be an excuse for more purchases.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,280.09 points, shedding 1.11% from Thursday’s 2,305.74 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 4.18%.
The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 1.24%, ending at 5,788.17 points, though mid-caps expanded 0.04%.
The banks index declined 0.51%, as Alpha fell 2.99%, Piraeus dropped 1.59% and Bank of Cyprus conceded 1.56%, while Eurobank rose 1.53% and National collected 0.25%. Helleniq Energy shrank 4.31% and Allwyn eased 4.05%.
In total 36 stocks registered gains, 70 suffered losses and 17 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to €300.8 million, down from Thursday’s €325.4 million.
In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.07% to 294.58 points.