ATHEX: Late bank rally helps bourse to weekly rise

Bank stocks recovered from their decline on Friday morning to buoy the benchmark and the blue chip index higher by the end the session. Information on further action by banks to reduce their bad loans helped stocks offset losses triggered by Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis’s statements, who said local lenders may need more capital injections in the future.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 634.64 points, adding 1.08 percent to Thursday’s 634.64 points. On a weekly basis it improved 1.29 percent.

The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.37 percent to 1,705.66 points. The banks index grew 1.26 percent, although its individual stocks presented a mixed picture: Eurobank rose 2.94 percent, National advanced 2.30 percent, Piraeus stayed put and Alpha slipped 0.34 percent. Coca-Cola HBC outperformed, climbing 2.77 percent, while Sarantis fell 2.16 percent.

In total 62 stocks recorded gains, 25 posted losses and 27 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 44.7 million euros, down from Thursday’s 52.1 million.

In Nicosia the Cyprus Stock Exchange general index slumped 2.34 percent to close at 61.45 points.