Without managing to follow the upward "turn" of the international markets, the Athens Stock Exchange succumbed to the pressure of the sellers, who held the reins throughout the day.

Somehow, the General Index maintained the sideways movement of the last few weeks, while investors seem to be turning their attention to the crucial Moody's verdict and the upcoming decisions of the central banks.

At the same time, the "sinking" of the daily trading value to levels below EUR 60 million was another sign of the pervasive and prolonged lack of interest, despite the encouraging first half corporate figures and the upgrading of the DBRS outlook.

Specifically, in the first session of the new week, the General Index declined mildly by 0.62% to 1,434.17 points, losing about nine points compared to Friday's close (1,443.13 points).

The arc of daily fluctuations was fixed at nine points (from 1,434.17 to 1,443.16 points), with the turnover of the transactions ranging at just 57 million euros, of which 3.5 million euros related to pre-agreed packages.

The banking index continued the stagnation of the last few days as it ended today at -0.70% and 1,245 points, pending the decisions on the final round of disinvestment of the HFSF.

Alpha's shares were down -1.22% and EUR 1.54, Eurobank's shares fell -0.89% and EUR 2.012, Piraeus' shares were almost unchanged at EUR 3.98, while ΝΒG closed down -0.58% and EUR 7.546.

In the high-cap index (-0.65% and 3,481 points), Jumbo shares, digesting last week's gains, folded back to -2.5% and 24.2 euros. Shares of Lamda Development, Metlen, Εlvalhalcor and Motor Oil also fell by more than 1%, which "lost" again to 22 euros. On the flip side, Titan Cement's shares rose significantly to +2% and 32.5 euros, with Hellaktor's shares following at +0.7% and 2.02 euros.

As for the mid-cap index (-0.89% and 2,313 points), Intracom Holdings' shares stood out positively at +1.6% and 3.16 euros, while shares of Plastic Thrace followed at +0.7% and 3.9 euros. In contrast, ADMIE shares contracted by -2.7%, due to the dividend cut of EUR 0.058. Lavipharm, Profile, Quest, HKE, Optima and Intralot declined by 1% to 2%.