ATHEX: Rising stocks narrowly hold upper hand

The benchmark of the Greek bourse was practically a non-mover on Thursday, after a mixed session with little action and a slender majority of rising stocks over the losers. Traders engaged in selective moves, selling when the German market headed lower, and resuming purchases at the closing auctions to take the main index back into positive territory upon closing.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 924.20 points, adding 0.04% to Wednesday’s 923.86 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted less than 0.01% to end at 2,239.11 points, while mid-caps conceded 0.24%.

The banks index, on the other hand, advanced 0.47%, on Piraeus growing 0.99%, Eurobank collecting 0.67% and National climbing 0.56%, while Alpha slipped 0.10%. OPAP lost 1.60%, but Aegean Airlines rose 1.31%, Viohalco improved 1.23% and Public Power Corporation earned 1.22%.

In total 52 took gains, 46 suffered losses and 26 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 36.4 million euros, down from Wednesday’s €42.5 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange decreased 0.63% to close at 88.60 points.