ATHEX: Mixed day with window dressing

Athinon Avenue had another mixed session on Wednesday, with the benchmark closing virtually unchanged, while mid- and small-caps improved their end-of-year picture, with gainers outnumbering losers by a ratio of almost three-to-one overall.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 809.08 points, shedding just 0.02% from Tuesday's 809.22 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 0.15% to close at 1,936.38 points, though mid-caps advanced 0.29%. The banks index declined 0.51%.

Fourlis Holdings grew 2.97%, Lamda Development rose 2.29% and Piraeus Bank grabbed 2.12%. Hellenic Petroleum lost 1.43%.

In total 76 stocks registered gains, 28 suffered losses and 31 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 58.7 million euros, down from Tuesday's €70.8 million. The drop in turnover is partly explained by the funds directed to the six-month treasury...