ATHEX: Thin turnover takes shine off stock growth

Greek stocks enjoyed significant gains on Wednesday – making it the third northbound session in the last four – although the benchmark appeared unprepared to clear the 500-point level for now. The fact that trading volume was quite low indicates that the gains were not based on any substantial domestic developments, but rather reflected the growth seen on foreign markets, thanks partly to the rebound in oil prices.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 495.10 points, adding 2.53 percent to Tuesday’s 482.89 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 2.77 percent to end at 133.32 points.

Bank stocks were split between outperformers and underperformers for a second day, as Eurobank and Piraeus rose 10.11 percent and 7.58 percent respectively, while Alpha (down 2.65 percent) and National (up just 1.09 percent) closed on or near the day’s low.

Ellaktor stood out among blue chips with its 9.17 percent growth, followed by Piraeus Port Authority, which advanced 6.72 percent.

In total 56 stocks enjoyed gains, 33 sustained losses and 22 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 53.9 million euros, up from Tuesday’s 47.2 million.

In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange dropped 0.06 percent to 64.06 points.