Stocks rise ahead of imminent Cabinet reshuffle
Stocks rose yesterday, spurred on by a rally in small-cap stocks as investors moved on hopes that an imminent government reshuffle would pump life into privatizations and economic reforms. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index ended 1.62 percent higher at 2,383.51 points. Banks added 1.85 percent, offsetting weakness in bourse heavyweight OTE Telecom, while volatile construction stocks and small-caps outperformed. Total turnover came to 89.88 million euros, compared with 107 million euros on Friday. Bellwether National Bank gained 1.35 percent to 27.02 euros while Alpha Bank closed 1.24 percent higher at 19.60 euros. Axon Holdings, a 15-percent owner of Axon Airlines which is vying to buy Olympic Airways, climbed 11.04 percent to 3.32 euros. The share price has added 98.8 percent since sinking to a year-low of 1.67 euros on September 21. Blue chips on the FTSE/ASE-20 index advanced 1.43 percent to 1,328.57 points while mid-caps gained 2.34 percent. Small-caps added 3.51 percent. Winners beat losers 331 to 11 with 17 shares unchanged on 359 traded. Symbolic elements
