Athens Stock Exchange sinks to three-year low

The Athens Stock Exchange general price index dropped to a three-year low on Monday amidst uncertainty over the forthcoming snap general elections in Greece and developments in global economy.

The index closed at 568.38 points, down by 10.54 percent from Friday. During Monday's trading it had briefly sank to 562.87 points (11.4 percent).

On June 25, 2012, when the country was experiencing a second general election within two months, the general price index had closed at 566.79 points.

This time, financial analysts in Athens attributed the major losses to the investors' concern over domestic political developments, as well as for concern over developments in the global economy following the dramatic dive in the Chinese stock markets and other markets internationally.

Last week, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned in order to force national polls after January's general elections.

The Leftist leader said that he felt it was his moral duty to request a fresh mandate from Greek people to implement the third bailout his government signed with international lenders this summer.

Amidst fears that political uncertainty could drag on if a new stable ruling coalition does not emerge from the ballot, the hardest hit market sector in Monday's stock trading was the ailing banking sector (22.67 percent decline).

The Athens Stock Exchange general price index from the start of this year has already suffered net losses of 31.2 percent, according to the Greek national news agency AMNA. Endit