Banks hammered on nervous market

HEAVILY traded bank stocks took a hammering on the bourse yesterday as share prices plunged by 2.5 per cent.

Trading opened at Wednesday’s 132-point close and headed into a steep decline. A slight rebound to 131 points during mid-session failed to sustain any momentum and the all-share index closed at 129.4 points.

The blue chips FTSE/CySE index fell 2.2 per cent to 514 points while total volume for the day stood low at £5.7 million.

” What we witnessed today was a complete selling frenzy,”said one Nicosia broker. ” The index was already fragile but holding on by a thread. Christmas on the trading floor isn’t looking very merry from where we are standing.”

The main banks came under heavy selling pressure, all three making the most- active list. Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank shed four cents each to end at £1.88 and £1.51 respectively, while Hellenic Bank dropped two cents to close at £0.90.

The banking sector ended 2.5 per cent in the red but insurance companies were hardest hit, the sub sector closing 5.1 per cent down while fish farms sustained the least damage, recording a drop of only 0.11 per cent.

Overall, 24 titles gained, compared to 84 decliners and 39 that closed unchanged

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.