ECONOMY

ATHEX: Morning stock gains checked by Eurogroup

The inexplicable rise recorded in early trade on the Greek bourse on Friday was significantly contained in the early afternoon when Bloomberg reported the alleged comments that eurozone finance ministers made to their Greek counterpart, Yanis Varoufakis, during yesterday’s Eurogroup meeting.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 761.56 points, adding 3.39 percent to Thursday’s 736.60 points. On a weekly basis it gained 4.35 percent. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index expanded 3.74 percent to close at 228.24 points.

Some observers attributed the morning rise, which saw the benchmark jump to 770 points, to optimism for an agreement between Athens and its creditors, while others put it down to the German chancellor’s pledge that Greece will not be left without cash, and others still to the very low price levels for many stocks, especially those of banks.

Piraeus Bank soared 15.52 percent and Jumbo climbed 9.22 percent, while Motor Oil gave up 2.74 percent.

In total 70 stocks posted gains, 37 registered losses and 15 stayed unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 106.7 million euros, up from Thursday’s 83.5 million.

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