ATHEX: Mild gains after another mixed day

A nervous session at the Greek stock exchange on Thursday produced a mixed picture with a slight edge in favor of buyers, who offset Wednesday’s benchmark losses, albeit on reduced turnover as well as volatility. The main index remained above the 800-point mark for another day, but this is a level the market does not appear robust enough to sustain just yet.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 817.24 points, adding 0.26% to Wednesday’s 815.10 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.17% to close at 1,964.35 points.

The banks index advanced 0.33%, with National earning 1.96% and Alpha rising 0.76%, while Piraeus dropped 2.02% and Eurobank declined 0.86%.

Among other blue chips, Viohalco jumped 5.90%, as Sarantis lost 3.12% and OPAP contracted 1.99%.

In total 48 stocks posted gains, 47 took losses and 25 remained unchanged.

Turnover was the lowest of the last 12 sessions, amounting to 54 million euros, down from Wednesday’s €79.4 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.48% to close at 58.70 points.