ATHEX: Another day of moderate stock gains

For a fifth session in a row, the Greek stock market edged higher on low turnover on Monday, as if the sellers have gone away on holiday before the buyers. Blue chips shook off some early pressure to start climbing and sustained gains even without the help of bank stocks.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 869.90 points, adding 0.63% to Friday’s 864.44 points. The large-cap FTSE 250 index expanded 0.59% to end up at 2,081.40 points.

The banks index declined 0.07%, as Piraeus lost 1.31% and Eurobank slipped 0.10%, while Alpha Bank stayed put and National advanced 0.67%.

Three blue chips performed well, accounting for most of the benchmark’s gains: Ellaktor (+4.60%), Mytilineos (+3.76%) and Lamda Development (+3.54%). Sarantis, meanwhile, gave up 1.14% and Piraeus Port Authority parted with 1.12%.

In total 73 stocks enjoyed gains, 31 reported losses and 20 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 37.2 million euros, up from last Friday’s €30.5 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.95% to close at 66.61 points.