Greek shares extend losses in late afternoon trade, in line with Europe

Greek shares extend losses in late afternoon trade, in line with Europe

	Published : Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:37 By : Agencies Print this Story

ATHENS (AFX) - Shares were extending losses in late afternoon trade, in line with a retreat in Europe and anaemic emerging markets, and as investors rushed to take profits after recent stunning gains, dealers said.

At 2.15 pm the ASE general index was down 1.8 pct at 4,501.9 points, with decliners outnumbering advancers, 240 to 23. The bluechip index was dipping 1.9 pct to 2,453.2 points. Mid-caps were down 1.2 pct at 5,245.6 points, and small caps were falling 1.6 pct to 862.6 points.

Bottler Coca-Cola HBC was falling 2.9 pct to 30.1 eur after broker HSBC cut the stock to 'neutral' from 'overweight' on valuation grounds.

Bank of Cyprus was falling 2.6 pct to 11.02 eur on news that Bank of Piraeus CEO Mihalis Sallas said they will sell their 8 pct (approximately) stake in Bank of Cyprus at the appropriate time and a new offer for its acquisition will not be forthcoming. Bank of Piraeus was also down 2.6 pct to 24.56 eur on the same news.

National Bank of Greece was down 2.1 pct to 36.2 eur and Hellenic Telecomms (OTE) was down 2.3 pct to 23.44 eur, both on profit-taking.

Alpha Bank was down 1.5 pct to 24.08 eur on news that it issued a 1.5 bln eur floating rate note.

Greek Postal Savings Bank was unchanged at 18.22 eur on reports that the government is mulling placing a 15 pct stake within the next few months lowering its holding to 51 pct from 66 pct.

Of the few advancers, betting technology company Intralot was up 1 pct to 27.1 eur after broker P&K Securities lifted its target price to 33 eur from 30 eur on its successful expansion into the Italian market.

Construction holding company Hellenic Technodomiki was 0.4 pct higher to 8.78 eur after broker Alpha Finance lifted its target price to 9.5 eur from 9.2 eur after rolling forward its valuation by a year and incorporating new contracts.

Source: Euro2day.gr NewsWire

skrekas@euro2day.gr

ns/amb

The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.

AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited