ATHEX: Stock traders come back down to earth

Tuesday's gains posted by bank stocks and the local bourse benchmark were wiped out on Wednesday on the realization that the second bailout review is nowhere near completion. The warning for Wednesday's drop for bank stocks had come at the end of trade on Tuesday, by which time their index had sunk to the day's low.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 647.14 points, shedding 1.23 percent from Tuesday's 655.20 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 1.37 percent to end at 1,737.89 points. Mid-caps expanded 0.55 percent and small-caps grew 1.52 percent.

Alpha Bank dropped 4.40 percent as the banks index slumped 3.84 percent. Piraeus gave up 3.70 percent and National fell 3.67 percent.

Public Power Corporation conceded 3.56 percent and Ellaktor decreased 2.65 percent. Bucking the trend were Hellenic Petroleum (up 5.15 percent), Lamda...