Stocks soar on debt swap optimism
Optimism for a much-anticipated agreement on the Greek debt swap bolstered stocks on the local bourse on Thursday in the first session with a healthy turnover in a long time.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended the day at 689.75 points, expanding by 2.94 percent from Wednesday?s closing figure of 670.03 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index grew by 3.19 percent to close at 269.17 points.
Alpha Bank soared by 12.09 percent, followed by Eurobank EFG (up 9.64 percent) and Hellenic Postbank (8.73 percent). Hellenic Petroleum was the worst off among blue chips, shedding 1.15 percent.
In total, 112 stocks registered gains, 44 posted losses and 22 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 64.9 million euros.
