Investors banking on further credit sector consolidation
The temporary suspension of trading in National Bank and Eurobank stocks at 11.10 am on Friday did not stop the Greek bourse from staging an impressive rally, with the benchmark index adding over 5 percent and the banks index some 10 percent on the strength of expectations for a further consolidation of the credit market.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 829.96 points, rising 5.05 percent from Thursday?s 790.04 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index expanded by 6.19 percent, to close at 304.14 points.
All but one of the blue chips registered gains, with Piraeus Bank and Bank of Cyprus leading the way (up 20.19 percent and 20 percent respectively). Motor Oil gave up 0.42 percent.
In total, 123 stocks went up, 34 registered losses and 25 remained unchanged.
Turnover came to 88.9 million euros, up from Thursday?s 44 million.
