Index back over 2,900 points as mid-caps surge
Stocks posted gains for the second session in a row yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange, sending the ASE general index back over 2,900 points. The index closed at 2,911.22 points, a gain of 12.49 points or 0.43 percent. On a weekly basis, it declined 1.45 percent after 11 weeks of gains. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 0.31 percent to close at 1,608.15 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 1.39 percent and 0.95 percent respectively. Among blue chips, significant gains were made by cement company Titan (3.47 percent to 25.02 euros), Piraeus Bank (1.88 percent to 14.06 euros), and bottler Coca-Cola HBC (1.69 percent to 18.10 euros), the latter following a report by investment bank CSFB retaining a target price of 21.50 euros. By contrast, OTE Telecom dropped 0.44 percent to close at 13.62 euros and National Bank slid 0.31 percent to 25.60 euros. Year-highs were set by cement company Heracles (10.30 euros), gaming company Intralot (22.66 euros) and metallic products company Rokas’s preferred shares (7.72 euros). Of 354 traded stocks, 218 gained, 79 declined and 57 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 178.90 million euros, including 55.01 million in prearranged trades.
