ATHEX: Bourse posts rebound on talks optimism

Greek stocks bounced back on Monday after a week of losses, in line with the majority of European markets. Hope of a settlement between Russia and Ukraine springs eternal, with talks resuming in Turkey, though there is no guarantee of a successful conclusion. However, prices were seen too as undervalued not to rebound on this opportunity.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 861.98 points, adding 2.24% to Thursday’s 843.11 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 2.46%, ending at 2,086.95 points.

The banks index advanced 3.68%, with National soaring 4.97%, Eurobank earning 3.70%, Alpha grabbing 3.16% and Piraeus collecting 2.49%.

Among the other blue chips, Viohalco jumped 4.63%, OTE telecom improved 3.86%, Terna Energy rose 3.73%, Ellaktor grew 3.65%, Titan cement fetched 3.33%, Athens Water gained 2.96% and Mytilineos augmented 2.63%, while Quest Holdings lost 0.17%.

In total 78 stocks made gains, 19 suffered losses and 18 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 87 million euros, up from last Thursday’s €61.4 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 1.23% to 67.44 points.