Late buys in banks, telecoms save the day
Equities closed up slightly yesterday on late turnaround buying of banks and telecoms by domestic and foreign institutional investors after the index broke the crucial 2,000-point mark earlier, traders said. The benchmark general share index closed 0.23 percent up at 2,026.52 points with very low volumes. «The turnaround was expected up to a point: This is a fair level for the market and that is why we got people buying. This is where the market will consolidate as long as we don’t see any further slide to the dollar that could weigh on European markets,» said George Smyrnis, CEO of Proton Mutual Funds Management. Analyst Takis Zamanis at Beta Securities added that the day’s low volumes show that sellers are not following the market downward but adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Turnover fell to 94.98 million euros, with 23.5 million shares changing hands. Advancers trailed decliners 123 to 184, with 52 unchanged against 359 traded. (Reuters)
