Reckoning Day For Greek Stocks As Trading Restarts With Plunge
By Lu Wang and Joseph Ciolli
After five weeks in a deep sleep, equities in Greece became free to trade again — though how free is another question.
Closed since June 29, the Athens Stock Exchange reopened Monday, with the benchmark ASE Index slumping a record 22 percent at 11 a.m. in Athens. A host of restrictions will govern the purchase of shares by local traders due to capital controls imposed as the country acted to preserve its financial system. It will also be easier to suspend stocks that swing wildly.
The trading halt — the longest since the 1970s — was another blow to owners of Greek equities, who have watched as the market gave up 85 percent of its value since 2007. Piraeus Bank SA and National Bank of Greece SA led the declines in the ASE on Monday, tumbling 30 percent.
?It?s very hard for me to see why Greek stocks will be something people want to get involved in the near term,? said Chris Konstantinos, director of international fund management at Riverfront Investment Group in Richmond, Virginia. His firm oversees $5.5 billion and doesn?t invest in Greek equities. ?You have to think the earnings direction for a country like Greece is going to be negative for a long time.?