Equities gain ground as OTE Telecom bounces
Telecom-led gains helped lift the Athens bourse 1.42-percent higher yesterday as index heavyweight OTE Telecom bounced in a delayed reaction to positive 2001 earnings. «The market is at oversold levels and an upward reaction is justified,» said Manos Hatzidakis, analyst at Magna Trust Securities. «What we saw today was partly due to portfolio restructuring after the 2001 earnings announcements, with investors turning to companies and sectors likely to maintain growth rate this year such as telcos and construction stocks,» he said. The Athens bourse benchmark general index ended just off session highs at 2,366.02 points. The market edged ahead 0.6 percent for the week. Banks advanced 1.11 percent while telecoms added 2.17 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 1.29 percent to 1,281.12 points. The FTSE/ASE-40 index of mid-caps gained 1.63 percent and small-caps on the FTSE/ASE-80 rose 1.83 percent. Total turnover was 126.10 million euros on volume of 20.1 million shares. Winners beat losers 286 to 45, with 29 unchanged on 360 traded.(Reuters)
