ECONOMY

ATHEX: Juncker phone call helps local stocks grow

The telephone call between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker turned things around at the Greek bourse on Wednesday, with morning losses giving way to afternoon gains. The benchmark closed near the day’s high, back above the 800-point level.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 816.94 points, adding 2.86 percent to Tuesday’s 794.23 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index expanded 3.17 percent to close at 244.71 points.

Banks led the way with a 9.13 percent rebound after Tuesday’s decline, as it increasingly became obvious that the worst would be averted at yesterday’s European Central Bank board meeting. Eurobank grew 13.01 percent, Piraeus rose 9.49 percent, Alpha Bank climbed 8.19 percent and National advanced 7.27 percent.

Utilities fared best among non-bank blue chips as Public Power Corporation earned 6.06 percent and EYDAP added 6 percent. Coca-Cola HBC lost 2.73 percent.

In total 78 stocks enjoyed gains, 32 suffered losses and eight remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 82 million euros, down from Tuesday’s 95.8 million.

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