Bourse up 10 pct since start of year
The fifth consecutive session of growth on the Greek bourse on Wednesday produced spectacular gains for stocks on the day that the country officially assumed the rotating presidency of the European Council and after the Financial Times reported that the country is close to returning to the money markets.
The ATHEX general index closed at 1,279.41 points, its highest since July 2011, adding 3.34 percent to Tuesday’s 1,238.06 points. The index has grown by over 10 percent since January 1.
The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 expanded 3.29 percent to end at 420.43 points on Wednesday.
Some blue chips recorded impressive growth on the day, led by Eurobank Properties’ 12.55 percent, Titan Cement’s 8.59 percent, OTE telecom’s 7.55 percent and GEK Terna, which expanded 6.30 percent. Terna Energy gave up 2.54 percent and Public Power Corporation contracted by 0.87 percent.
In total 107 stocks registered gains, 42 recorded losses and 20 remained unchanged.
The growth in turnover also pointed to an increase in market players, as the transaction volume amounted to 149.6 million euros, compared to Tuesday’s 88.9 million.