ATHEX trading volume jumps on Piraeus Port deal

Wednesday's trading on the Athens stock exchange started with Chinese shipping company Cosco taking up a majority stake in the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP). This proved something of a springboard for the general index, which rose 0.87 percent to 567.28 points.

The total value of transactions on the bourse on Wednesday came to 305.6 million euros but 280.5 million of this was the transfer of the 51 percent stake in OLP to Cosco.

The Chinese giant purchased 12.75 million shares at 22 euros per share.

OLP’s share price had fallen 1.08 percent to 13.80 euros by the close of trading.

The overall turnover on the Athens bourse on Wednesday, excluding the Cosco deal, was a little higher than earlier in the week at 25 million euros, but still considerably down on previous weeks.

Among large-cap shares, Mytilineos was up 4.06 percent, followed by Lamda Development, which increased 3.75 percent.

Piraeus Bank was the highest riser among Greece’s core lenders. Its share price climbed 3.13 percent.

The most significant slide of the day was in Gek Terna shares, which decreased by 1.49 percent.

Alpha Bank was the poorest performer among banks. Its share price eased 0.56 percent.