ATHEX: Bourse rises in the face of European decline

The Greek bourse bucked the European trend and posted some gains for its main index and the majority of stocks, led by banks which enjoyed significant growth on Wednesday. There was a slight improvement to trading volume, though nowhere near recent levels that had pointed to Athinon Avenue evolving into a market of significant interest for foreign investors.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,178.88 points, adding 0.78% to Tuesday’s 1,169.79 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.89% to end at 2,883.83 points.

The banks index outperformed, growing 2.27%, as Pira

us grabbed 3.86%, Eurobank fetched 2.79%, National earned 1.68% and Alpha advanced 10.4%. 

Among the other blue chips, Terna Energy jumped 3.64%, Helleniq Energy augmented 2.68% and ElvalHalcor collected 1.98%, while Quest Holdings conceded 1.30% and Titan Cement gave up 1.18%.

In total 51 stocks made gains, 42 took losses and 20 remained unchanged. Turnover amounted to 75.8 million euros, up from Tuesday’s €63.3 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.02% to close at 127.87 points.