Interest in CosmOTE puts end to 4-day slide
Shares rebounded yesterday after a four-session decline which had led to a cumulative decline of 3.65 percent for the Athens Stock Exchange general index. Contributing to the rebound were renewed buying interest in banks and the unexpected placement of 9 percent of CosmOTE shares, formerly held by Norway’s Telenor, with Greek and foreign institutionals. The placement took place at 12.18 euros. At this price, the shares on offer had a total value of 361.81 euros. The ensuing interest for CosmOTE shares led it to close at 12.48 euros, a new high this year and a gain of 2.46 percent. The general share index rose 0.96 percent to close at 2,415.89 points. All sectoral indices rose, with the greatest gains made by construction and information technology stocks (2.52 percent and 2.36 percent, respectively). Alpha Bank, which reported a 63 percent rise in net group profit on Wednesday, rose 3.25 percent, to 24.14 euros per share. A report by UBS bank, published yesterday, set a target price of 32 euros. Of the 355 stocks traded, 228 ended with gains, 61 with losses and 66 unchanged. With the help of the CosmOTE placement, turnover rose to 533.31 million euros, of which 380.43 million concerned prearranged transactions.
