Greek stocks close with record drop of 16.23%

Athens - Greece's stock exchange closed Monday with a record drop of 16.23% on reopening after a five-week shutdown caused by capital controls.

The general index settled at 668.06 points with the nation's outflow-hit banks and top corporations taking a beating.

The exchange's previous worst showing was in 1987 when the index had lost 15.03%.

The banking index on Monday lost nearly 30%, with the top four Greek lenders shedding the same amount, the maximum daily loss allowed.

Bourse officials said the selling spree was logical following the five-week shutdown and noted the situation could take a month to normalise.

"Pressure by sellers was high. It is logical and anticipated by everyone," stock market chairperson Socrates Lazaridis told Bloomberg TV, noting that he expected the market to stabilise in a month's time.

"After five weeks of non-transacting ability, it was important to incorporate the changes that have taken place in the international environment of capital markets, and also on the local environment where there was a number of important changes," Lazaridis said.