ATHEX: Bourse ends session on the day’s high

The Greek bourse’s strongest stocks acted in unison to take the benchmark higher on Tuesday, with its closing marking the day’s high too. The low turnover and the stagnant picture of most stocks outside the blue chip club point to traders taking a wait-and-see stance for a second day in row. Estimates regarding an upcoming rise in bank stock prices benefited the entire market.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 867.54 points, adding 0.96% to Monday’s 859.32 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.16%, ending at 2,093.65 points.

The banks index grew 2.14%, as Alpha jumped 3.54%, National earned 2.09%, Eurobank collected 1.48% and Piraeus rose 0.72%.

Among the other blue chips, Titan Cement climbed 3.20%, Mytilineos augmented 2.79% and Ellaktor was up 2.12%, as Quest Holdings declined 2.10% and GEK Terna decreased 1.10%.

In total 53 stocks posted gains, 42 suffered losses and 24 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 48 million euros, up from Monday’s 43.4 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.99% to close at 66.22 points.