Greek Stocks Slide Further Amid Debt Speculation
FTSE20 index recorded a year low on Wednesday, in a session with heavy losses for the Greek market.
The General Index managed to stay marginally above 1,400 units, while Greek banks continued to slide, with their index recording a 14-year low.
Market analysts attribute the continued weakness of the Athens Exchange to the unabated speculation about a possible restructuring of Greek debt, the investors’ avoid-risk stance and market’s failure to find a counterweight against such hearsay.
They also state that low valuations cannot attract investors as scenarios about debt restructuring with a haircut setting up discussions about the need of banks for new capital injections, while the government fails or delays to implement its announcements.
The sharp widening of Greek bond spreads has been with very low volume, however it is indicative of bond market’s concern towards Greece, analysts commented.
"The market believes a restructuring is inevitable, but it΄s not clear whether it΄s going to be a simple extension of bond maturities or whether a haircut is in the works," a broker at foreign bank told Dow Jones Newswires.
Across the board, the General Index ended at 1,400.06 units, down 1.79%. Approximately 24.03 million units worth €78.34m were traded on Wednesday, while a total amount of 100 shares declined, 44 rose and 138 remained unchanged.
Banks fell by 3.59%, at 1,022.14 units. Only Bank of Cyprus ended in positive territory, with profits of 0.85%.
On the other hand, Attica Bank, Piraeus Bank, Geniki Bank and National Bank bore the heaviest pressures, with losses in the range of 5.25%-5.81%. ATEbank and Eurobank declined by 4.35%, while Proton Bank and Alpha Bank posted losses of 3.57% and 3.01% respectively. Hellenic Postbank and Marfin Popular and National Bank lost 2.78% and 2.41% respectively.
Viohalco and Titan stood out across FTSE20, with profits of around 1.25%, while MIG fell by 5.56%. Mytilineos, Ellaktor and PPC recorded losses of 3.42%, 2.96% and 2.36% respectively.
(capital.gr)
