Greece's equity market closed in negative territory on Tuesday, with the Athens General Composite registering a 1.26% decline at the session's end. Sector pressure from Banking, Telecoms and Household names helped drive the downward finish at the Athens exchange.
Market breadth and leadership
Falling issues outnumbered advancing ones by 72 to 41 on the Athens Stock Exchange, while 16 stocks finished flat. At the close in Athens, the benchmark was down 1.26%.
Top gainers
- Ideal Group SA (AT:IDEr) led the winners, rising 6.04% or 0.38 points to close at 6.67. Shares in Ideal Group SA rose to all time highs; up 6.04% or 0.38 to 6.67.
- Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries SA (AT:MORr) gained 3.97% or 1.40 points to finish at 36.70.
- Elvalhalcor Hellenic Copper and Aluminium Industry SA (AT:ELHA) added 2.92% or 0.14 points to end the session at 4.94.
Largest decliners
- Bank of Cyprus Holdings PLC (AT:BOCHGRr) was the biggest laggard, falling 4.23% or 0.42 points to trade at 9.50 at the close.
- Eurobank Ergasias SA (AT:EURBr) declined 4.14% or 0.16 points to end the session at 3.80.
- Kri-Kri Milk (AT:KRIr) slipped 3.60% or 0.90 points to close at 24.10.
Commodities and currency moves
Outside equities, commodity prices showed mixed direction: Gold Futures for June delivery fell 0.93% or 43.83 to $4,684.87 a troy ounce. Energy markets moved higher, with Crude oil for June delivery up 3.78% or 3.71 to $101.78 a barrel, and the July Brent contract rising 3.43% or 3.57 to trade at $107.78 a barrel.
On currency markets, the euro was weaker against the dollar with EUR/USD down 0.44% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.27% at 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.45% at 98.26.
Context summary
The session saw a clear tilt toward selling pressure at the Athens exchange, driven in part by notable declines among major banking names and select household sector names, while select industrial and energy-related stocks posted gains. Broader market indicators showed strength in oil prices and a softer gold price, alongside a firmer U.S. dollar by the close.