ATHEX: Blue chips lift bourse to new highs

The anticipation stemming from the reopening of the retail market in Greece and the Suez Canal continued to inspire investors at Athinon Avenue on Tuesday, with yet another 13-month high recorded by the benchmark despite the lack of support from bank stocks, which had a mixed day.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 873.62 points, adding 1.25% to Monday’s 862.83 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1% to close at 2,099.08 points.

The banks index edged up just 0.07%, as Eurobank’s 1.31% drop all but offset the gains registered by Piraeus (8%), National (0.71%) and Alpha (0.58%).

The blue chip index was mainly boosted by the advance of GEK Terna (3.71%), Aegean Airlines (3.61%), Titan Cement (3.50%), Ellaktor (3.49%) Mytilineos (3.38%) and Motor Oil (3.31%), while Hellenic Exchanges parted with 1.60% and OPAP fell 1.04%.

In total 76 stocks recorded gains, 35 took losses and 22 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to €86.4 million, down from Monday’s €96.1 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.46% to close at 60.60 points.