ATHEX: More growth for stocks at Athinon Avenue

The prospect of interest rate cuts in the US and Europe boosted markets in the eurozone and sent the Greek bourse benchmark higher on Thursday. Despite receiving little support from the usual suspects – i.e. the banks – the main index and that of blue chips gained more ground, confirming that despite the temporary cashing-in efforts, traders have a bullish attitude for the long term.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,430.35 points, adding 0.89% to Wednesday’s 1,417.72 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.08%, ending at 3,453.92 points.

The banks index only earned 0.16%, as Alpha rose 1.94% and Piraeus grabbed 0.61%, while National gave up 1.15% and Eurobank slipped 0.03%. PPC stood out with its 3.48% growth, OTE telecom climbed 2.52%, and Mytilineos augmented 2.34%.

In total 64 stocks reported gains, 37 sustained losses and 29 remained unchanged.

Turnover was the lowest of the last eight sessions, amounting to 130.9 million euros, down from Wednesday’s €138.6 million.

In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange decreased 0.28% to close at 145.06 points.