Late buying in blue chips lifts index over 2,700 pts
Buying in blue chips re-emerged late in the session yesterday to lift the benchmark general index above the 2,700- point mark. Brokers said the ongoing Public Power Corporation’s initial public offering was keeping trading volumes thin. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index closed with gains of 0.76 percent at 2,703.08 points. Blue chips rose 0.81 percent to 1,483.87 points. Mid-caps on the FTSE/ASE-40 index rose 0.97 percent and small-caps gained 0.72 percent. Trading was subdued all day with the exception of some buying interest in blue chips late in the session, said analyst Maria Hatzisavas at Artion Securities. The low volumes could be due to PPC’s IPO; we see the same trading pattern for (today). PPC, Greece’s former electricity monopoly, hopes to raise at least 430.5 million euros from the offering of 35 million shares, or about 15 percent of its share capital, with the price range set at 12.30 to 14.70 euros. The IPO runs through tomorrow. Turnover was 152.38 million euros. Winners beat losers 239 to 73 with 49 shares unchanged on 361 traded. During the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, bilateral relations were not promoted to any great extent.
