Piraeus Bank and PPC lead index south

Traders continued to sell Greek stocks on Thursday as conflicting statements from officials on the local economy and an adverse international environment kept up the pressure on local stock prices. Even so, both the indexes and the prices managed to rise above the day's low by closing time.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 728.62 points, shedding 1.94 percent from Wednesday's 743.01 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 1.61 percent to 1,897.09 points.

The banks index declined 2.92 percent, with Piraeus being sellers' main target, as it slumped 8.34 percent. Eurobank shrank 3.97 percent, Alpha gave up 1.85 percent and National parted with 1.05 percent. Public Power Corporation declined 5.87 percent, Titan Cement fell 3.29 percent and Fourlis Holdings shed 3.70 percent. ADMIE Holdings was the only blue-chip not to drop, adding 0.12 percent.<...