Greek Stock Market Reopens With 22 Percent Loss

Greek stocks dropped sharply Monday when the Athens Stock Exchange opened for the first time in five weeks.  The exchange index lost nearly 23 percent in the opening moments of trading.

Shares steadily regained some ground, with the index down less than 19 percent after two hours. Bank stocks suffered the most, hitting or nearing the daily trading limit of a 30 percent loss.

The government closed the stock exchange in late June when it also shut down banks and imposed limits on money withdrawals in response to the country's debt crisis.

Banks have since reopened, while maintaining strict withdrawal limits.

Greece reached an agreement on a new bailout with the European Union and International Monetary Fund last month and reopened the banks on July 20.  Capital controls are still in place, and Greece is currently in intense negotiations with bailout lenders in an effort to negotiate the terms of a massive new rescue package in the next two weeks. The new rescue package could be worth up to $94 billion.

The bailout is Greece's third in the span of five years.  It came after weeks of negotiations and controversy that included Greek voters rejecting an earlier bailout package in a referendum.  Many Greeks oppose the type of harsh austerity measures creditors demand, saying they only have made the country's economic woes worse.

Negotiators from the European Union and International Monetary Fund are seeking faster cuts in early retirement plans set out by the government, and stricter conditions for a tax arrears payment program.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing opposition to the new bailout from within his left-wing Syriza party that could force him to call an early election in the fall.
  voanews.com
3/8/15
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