Market close
Greece's stock market finished the session lower on Friday, with the Athens General Composite giving up 2.27% at the close in Athens. The session was marked by headline weakness in the Banking, Telecoms and Household sectors, which led the overall market move downward.
Top performers
Among stocks that finished the day higher, Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries SA (AT:MORr) led gains, rising 3.61% or 1.28 points to close at 36.70. HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings SA (AT:HEPr) added 3.22% or 0.28 points to finish at 8.98. Ilyda SA Class R (AT:ILYr) also advanced, up 2.58% or 0.11 points to 4.37 at the close.
Largest decliners
On the downside, Optima bank SA (AT:OPTIMAr) was the weakest large mover, sliding 6.15% or 0.56 points to end at 8.54. Piraeus Bank SA (AT:BOPr) fell 5.07% or 0.38 points to 7.20. Titan Cement International SA (AT:TITCr) dropped 5.01% or 2.45 points, closing at 46.50.
Market breadth
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the Athens Stock Exchange by 87 to 24, while 18 stocks finished unchanged, indicating broad weakness across the board.
Commodities and currencies
Commodities saw notable moves on the day. Gold futures for April delivery rose 1.53% or 77.56 to $5,156.26 a troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery climbed 10.38% or 8.41 to $89.42 a barrel. The May Brent oil contract increased 7.15% or 6.11 to trade at $91.52 a barrel.
In FX markets, the euro held near recent levels: EUR/USD was effectively unchanged, listed at 1.16 with a 0.23% notation, and EUR/GBP showed a 0.29% notation at 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.14% at 99.17.
Context
The session combined sector-led equity weakness with strength in commodity prices and modest movement in major currency pairs. The data above reflects closing prices and percentage moves as reported at the market close.