Index at 4-year high as investors snap up OPAP
Stocks jumped to a four-year high yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with investors going after the extra OPAP shares available. The ASE general index closed at 3,171.55 points, near the session high, a gain of 52.79 points or 1.69 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 1.81 percent to close at 1,779.69 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 0.93 percent and 0.85 percent respectively. OPAP gained 4.77 percent to close at 25.50 euros on the first day of trading in the fourth offer of shares that brought the state some 1.266 billion euros. Turnover of OPAP shares exceeded 72 million euros. Emporiki Bank almost stole the show, rising 5.35 percent to close at 25.58 euros, as UBS unexpectedly raised the share target price to 33.20 euros, from 19.17 previously. Other blue chips with significant gains included cement company Titan (up 5.42 percent to 27.62 euros), OTE (2.40 percent to 16.24 euros), EFG Eurobank (1.84 percent to 26.52 euros) and Alpha Bank (1.80 percent to 22.58 euros). By contrast, losses were sustained by Agricultural Bank (down 2.20 percent), Intracom (1.06 percent) and Coca-Cola HBC (0.33 percent). Of 330 traded stocks, 188 gained, 84 declined and 58 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 194.27 million euros, including 22.99 million in prearranged trades.
