Market rebounds but further correction seen
Stocks staged a technical rebound yesterday after the previous day’s sharp losses, but traders said there could be more downside on the back of global geopolitical worries. «We saw a technical rebound today but the correction is not over yet with global geopolitical concerns weighing on international markets,» said analyst Vassilis Vlastarakis at Contalexis Financial Services. «But I see an uptrend in early April ahead of quarterly corporate results,» he added. The general share index ended 1.10 percent higher at 2,301.33 points, tracking European shares which made a broad-based bounce off 2004 lows, helped by early gains on Wall Street. Shares in electricity utility Public Power Corporation rose 3.85 percent to 20.50 euros, wiping out some of the previous day’s losses. Traders said the stock was playing catch-up after recent losses while investors were also anticipating an increased dividend. Management last month said a dividend «in the area of 0.70 euros» would be proposed for 2003, up from 0.50 euros in 2002. Blue chips rose 0.92 percent, mid-caps advanced 2.32 percent while small-caps gained 2.55 percent. Turnover fell to 118.56 million euros, with 30.24 million shares changing hands. Winners led losers 266 to 58. (Reuters)
