ATHEX: Banks decline on state entity cash transfer

The June triple-witching, the FTSE index rebalancing and the concern generated among banks by the forced transfer of 7 billion euros of state entity reserves to the Bank of Greece saw bank stocks slump at the end of the week, which weighed heavily on the benchmark at Athinon Avenue.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 763.45 points, shedding 1.96 percent from Thursday's 778.71 points. On a weekly basis it gave up 1.24 percent.

The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 1.94 percent to 2,013.49 points, while mid-caps edged 0.17 percent lower.

The banks index gave up 6.41 percent, as Eurobank lost 7.12 percent, National decreased 7.01 percent, Alpha fell 6.15 percent and Piraeus contracted 4.85 percent.

The drop in the benchmark was contained by Coca-Cola HBC gains that came to 1.97 percent, while Lamda Development conceded 4.87 percent.

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