ATHEX: Late rally takes index over 1,400 pts

A late rally at Athinon Avenue gave the benchmark of the Greek bourse fresh momentum on Thursday, allowing it to easily surpass the 1,400-point barrier and close the day on a high. Non-bank blue chips outperformed, boosting a market that continues to have very high daily turnover levels since the placement of Piraeus Bank shares last week.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,417.64 points, adding 1.27% to Wednesday’s 1,399.87 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.29%, ending at 3,419.47 points, though mid-caps contracted 0.22%.

The banks index improved 0.61%, as National rose 2.09% and Eurobank fetched 0.39%, while Piraeus stayed put and Alpha gave up 0.62%.

Terna Energy jumped 7.23%, Motor Oil collected 5.82%, GEK Terna soared 5.72%, Quest Holdings grabbed 2.23% and Jumbo earned 1.54%.

In total 59 stocks recorded gains, 34 sustained losses and 33 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to €201.3 million, up from Wednesday’s €174.7 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange decreased 0.18% to close at 144.90 points.