ATHEX: National Bank drags bourse index lower

The losses sustained by bank stocks at the start of the trading week weighed on the Greek bourse benchmark in what was a rather nervous session in view of Monday's Eurogroup meeting. As a result, the main index ended lower, even though most other blue chips posted gains.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 644.12 points, shedding 0.10 percent from Friday's 644.77 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.09 percent to 1,719.45 points.

Banks declined 1.86 percent, with National sliding 6.45 percent, Eurobank falling 1.79 percent and Piraeus giving up 1.21 percent. Alpha bucked the trend, posting a rise of 0.61 percent.

PPC fell 2.94 percent and Grivalia Properties was down 2.51 percent, but Motor Oil grew 3.03 percent, Coca-Cola HBC added 2.14 percent and Folli Follie improved 1.71 percent.

In total 34 stocks reported gains, 68 suffered...