ATHEX: More of the same at bourse sees banks extend Wednesday’s gains

Thursday’s bourse session went the same way as Wednesday’s, with very low turnover, healthy growth for bank stocks and small gains for the benchmark. Stocks were split down the middle between winners and losers.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 531.64 points, adding 0.38 percent to Wednesday’s 529.65 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.25 percent to end at 1,416.34 points.

A Bank of America Merrill Lynch report saying that Greece could enter the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program within 2016 sent bank stocks higher, with their index gaining 4.38 percent. Eurobank soared 8.73 percent, Alpha advanced 4.23 percent and National grew 3.45 percent.

Other blue chips produced a mixed picture, with Grivalia Properties rising 2.90 percent and OTE telecom climbing 2.48 percent, while Ellaktor dropped 4.35 percent and Terna Energy gave up 3.92 percent.

In total 37 stocks posted gains, 37 sustained losses and 22 ended unchanged.

Turnover was the lowest of the last couple of months, amounting to 33.8 million euros, down from Wednesday’s 36.8 million.

In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange declined 1.30 percent to close at 64.32 points.