Corporate tax change boosts index
The good news for companies with high earnings and cash flow from the new tax bill presented on Tuesday boosted the main index of the local bourse on Wednesday.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended the session at 1,567.83 points, expanding 2.18 percent from Tuesday?s close at 1,534.38 points. Gains of as high as 2.66 percent were registered during the session. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index ended the day up 1.76 percent, at 728.87 points.
Listed blue chips with high dividends enjoyed the greatest gains, led by OPAP (up 8.35 percent), Coca-Cola HBC (4.06 percent), Mytilineos (4.05 percent), Hellenic Petroleum (4.04 percent) and Motor Oil (3.01 percent).
Banks were the focus of sellers, with Eurobank EFG shedding 2.38 percent, Alpha Bank dropping 1.69 percent, National Bank declining 1.46 percent and Marfin Popular Bank falling 0.91 percent.
In total 122 stocks moved up, 52 went down and 53 remained unchanged.
Altec led the gainers with growth of 14.29 percent, while Vell Group posted the biggest loss with a 11.76 percent decline.
Turnover came to 131.7 million euros, up from 106 million euros in the previous session.
