Athens bourse rises 1.37 pct on foreign gains
Positive performances on international equity markets rubbed off on Greek equities yesterday, leading the market 1.37 percent higher on tech and construction stock gains. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index ended in positive territory for the third straight session, closing at 2,267.77 points. Turnover jumped to 116.32 million euros from 69.59 million on Wednesday. Information technology stocks rose a strong 3.98 percent, following the lead of their European peers, while construction stocks also outperformed, adding 2.18 percent. Mid-caps on the FTSE/ASE-40 index rose 1.96 percent to 233.50 points while small-caps gained 1.84 percent. Blue chips on the FTSE/ASE-20 index gained 1.16 percent to 1,260.15 points. Telecom stocks gained 0.89 percent and banks rose 1.14 percent. National Bank of Greece gained 2.02 percent to 25.20 euros and Alpha Bank rose 1.42 percent to 18.60 euros. The Athens bourse said the session’s current trading hours, 12.00 – 18.00, will change as of Monday, with a new opening time of 11.00 and closing at 16.00. The new hours will be in effect until January 31, 2002. In some of these instances one can see that people should have known better, but Istanbul was a city before anybody knew anything about earthquakes.
