Piraeus steals show as stock index recovers
The stock market slide over the last two weeks came to an impressive end on Wednesday, as the benchmark climbed back above the 1,200-point level with healthy gains, while turnover edged close to 400 million euros. Piraeus Bank again dominated the proceedings, garnering over three-quarters of trading.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,218 points, expanding 2.61 percent from Tuesday’s 1,186.99 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 rose 2.26 percent to 391.47 points.
The entry of new Piraeus shares following the bank’s recent capital increase saw the stock post a 2.23 percent decline on transactions worth a whopping 288 million euros, leading the bank sector index to drop 0.89 percent. National Bank fell 2.30 percent while Alpha added 1.92 percent.
Non-banking blue chips excelled, with Eurobank Properties adding 7.63 percent, Intralot rising 7.46 percent, METKA rising 6.84 percent, OTE telecom advancing 6.73 percent, Frigoglass expanding 6.37 percent, and GEK Terna increasing by 6.02 percent.
In total, 81 stocks reported gains, 39 registered losses and 18 ended unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 392.3 million euros, more than twice Tuesday’s 190.5 million.
