ATHEX: Late purchases buoy bourse’s benchmark

Stocks showed a mixed picture at the Athens Exchange on Tuesday, with the benchmark rising from the red to the green towards the end of the session to record small gains. It appears that the few buyers available rushed into stop-loss action when the benchmark dropped close to the 560-point level to give it an upward push.

The general index closed at 566 points, adding 0.22 percent to Monday’s 564.75 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.20 percent to end at 1,527.79 points, although the small-cap index contracted 0.56 percent.

Banks also had a mixed session, with their index falling 0.73 percent in the end. Eurobank lost 3.66 percent, Alpha declined 0.57 percent, National rose 1.09 percent and Piraeus was a non-mover. OPAP gaming company was the day’s champion rising 2.53 percent, as Lamda Development augmented by 2.09 percent. Terna Energy gave up 1.95 percent and Grivalia Properties conceded 1.90 percent.

In total 45 stocks reported gains, 35 suffered losses and 22 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 31.8 million euros, up from Monday’s 28.1 million.

In Nicosia the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange shrank 0.35 percent to close at 66.21 points.