ATHEX: Stocks price in gloomy take on recession

Tuesday's stock gains were wiped out in Wednesday's bourse session, with investors pricing in the European Commission forecasts that take Greece's recession estimates for this year close to 10 percent.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 600.67 points, shedding 1.59 percent from Tuesday's 610.39 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 1.46 percent to 1,460.08 points.

The banks index dropped 2.88 percent, as Eurobank fell 4.23 percent, Alpha parted with 2.38 percent, National lost 2.37 percent and Piraeus declined 1.92 percent. Aegean Air shrank 6.84 percent, while Lamda Development rose 0.73 percent.

Traders are also faced with the strange situation of seeing blue chips such as Mytilineos and Coca-Cola HBC announcing their first-quarter financial results on Thursday, while other companies have not even issued their 2019 results, having...