Blue chips lead the way in resurgent session
Buying interest in Greek shares resurged yesterday, focusing on blue chips but spreading throughout most of the market. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index headed north for the third straight session, closing 0.76 percent up at 2,892.03 points. The blue chip FTSE/ASE-20 index advanced 0.65 percent to 1,609.36 points, mid-caps gained 0.36 percent and small-caps added 0.34 percent. Coca-Cola HBC was the star performer among blue chips, climbing 3.56 percent to 21.50 euros after reporting a 19 percent jump in first-quarter profits. Intracom advanced 3.08 percent, while Emporiki Bank gained 2.35 percent, Piraeus Bank 1.79 percent, and Alpha Bank 1.23 percent. Geniki Bank crashed 8.49 percent after announcing a share capital increase. Gaming heavyweight OPAP was up 1.09 percent. All sectoral indices but one, information technology, headed north, with textiles outperforming at 4.27 percent, mainly on the strength of Klonatex gains of 8.70 percent. Advancers outnumbered decliners 163 to 88, while 79 share prices remained unchanged on 330 traded. Turnover surged to 162.5 million euros, of which 53.7 million was accounted for by the four most marketable securities, OPAP, Intralot and National and Alpha banks.
