Greek stocks closed lower on Wednesday as losses in several sectors outweighed gains among individual names. At the end of trading in Athens, the Athens General Composite was down 0.62%.
The session's sector weakness centered on Telecoms, Household and Basic Resources, which collectively pressured the index. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 76 to 42 on the Athens Stock Exchange, while 12 shares finished unchanged.
Among the top performers on the Athens General Composite, Holding Company ADMIE IPTO SA (ADMr) led gains, finishing up 2.48% or 0.07 points at 2.89. OPAP Holding SA (ALWr) also advanced, adding 2.33% or 0.33 points to end at 14.51. Aktor Symmetochon Technikon kai Energoiakon Ergon AE (AKTRr) rose 1.92% or 0.20 points to close at 10.64.
At the lower end of the leaderboard, Evropi Holdings SA (EVROr) recorded the steepest fall, declining 4.11% or 0.09 points to 1.99 at the close. Elvalhalcor Hellenic Copper and Aluminium Industry SA (ELHA) fell 3.90% or 0.15 points to finish at 3.70. Intracom Holdings SA (INRr) was down 3.83% or 0.12 points to trade at 3.02 by the session's end.
Commodities showed mixed moves during the trading day. Gold Futures for April delivery dropped 2.83% or 141.80 to $4,866.40 a troy ounce. In contrast, crude oil for May delivery rose 2.25% or 2.15 to $97.68 a barrel, while the May Brent contract increased 5.36% or 5.54 to $108.96 a barrel.
Foreign exchange rates were broadly steady. The EUR/USD pair was essentially unchanged, moving 0.17% to 1.15, and EUR/GBP showed virtually no change at 0.86, with a 0.07% move reported. The US Dollar Index Futures traded higher, up 0.22% at 99.55.
Market takeaway - The Athens market closed lower with sector-level weakness concentrated in Telecoms, Household and Basic Resources. A clear majority of stocks ended down, while a small set of names posted notable gains. Commodity prices diverged, with a sharp fall in gold and meaningful increases in oil benchmarks. Currencies were largely stable and the US Dollar Index recorded a modest rise.