Credit sector acquisitions help rein in local stocks’ early losses
Piraeus Bank’s acquisition of Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank branches in Greece saw the lender’s shares soar on Friday, going some way toward reversing the losses registered by the benchmark index earlier in the session.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 930.53 points, contracting by 0.61 percent from Thursday’s 924.86 points. On a weekly basis it contracted by 3.11 percent. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX-25 index added 0.69 percent, ending at 302.20 points.
Piraeus jumped 20.21 percent, while Public Power Corporation expanded by 7.22 percent.
In total 83 stocks registered gains, 56 recorded losses and 21 remained unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 72.2 million euros, up from Thursday’s 48.7 million.
