Equities fell at midday on bank losses, despite domestic positive news flow. Europe is sharply lower, amid a slew of weak corporate earnings and geopolitical concerns. The global rise in bond yields is also hanging over markets. At home, Mytilineos reported the biggest quarterly profits rise in its history, while PPC concluded the acquisition of Enel Romania. 

At 1423 local time, the general share index was down 1.1% to 1172 points. Banks gave up 2.2%, with NBG and Piraeus losing 2.9% each, while Alpha and Eurobank were down 1.6% and 1.3% respectively. 

In contrast, OPAP and OTE were among a handful of blue-chips were posted gains, +1.1% and 0.6%, respectively.