ATHEX: Bank stocks sink on jitters

Investors in the local bourse were clearly nervous on Tuesday - largely due to the increase in Greek lenders' dependence on the Bank of Greece's emergency liquidity mechanism, as well as Single Supervisory Mechanism head Daniele Nouy's visit to Athens - and this resulted in significant losses for the vast majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue, with banks leading the way.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 638.92 points, shedding 1.89 percent from Monday's 651.25 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 1.91 percent to 1,705.62 points.

The banks index shrank 4.53 percent as Piraeus lost 6.25 percent, Eurobank gave up 5.12 percent and Alpha conceded 4.55 percent.

Viohalco decreased 3.80 percent and Titan Cement dropped 3.50 percent, but Grivalia Properties - which completed the acquisition of a major property in Panama - grew 0.51 percent.<...