ATHEX: Rising streak continues for a sixth week
March started on a high note for local stocks on Friday, ending another week of gains on brisk trading volume, capped by profit-taking in the session’s last few hours after prices peaked.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 712.61 points, adding 0.72 percent to Thursday’s 707.51 points. On a weekly basis it grew 5.28 percent, advancing for a sixth consecutive week, a feat not seen since 2013.
The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.93 percent to 1,852.92 points, and the banks index improved 0.51 percent, holding on to just a fraction of its earlier gains.
Piraeus Bank ascended 3.66 percent, Alpha climbed 1.13 percent, Eurobank slipped 0.30 percent and National dropped 1.26 percent. Mid-cap Attica Bank soared 28.21 percent.
In total 59 stocks secured gains, 30 took losses and 31 closed unchanged.
Turnover remained above the 100-million-euro level, easing to 108.8 million euros from Thursday’s 119.4 million.
In Nicosia the Cyprus Stock Exchange general index advanced 3.12 percent to 63.38 points, thanks to news on the value of the new offshore natural gas reserve Exxon Mobil has discovered.
