Across-the-board gains limited toward the end
Stocks rose yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), though news of further bomb attacks in London pared back gains. Before the announcement of the London attacks, the ASE, like other European bourses, had been in an exuberant mood due to China’s revaluation of the yuan. The ASE general index closed at 3,243.36 points, a gain of 17.42 points or 0.54 percent. It had reached 3,263.78 points earlier in the session. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 0.59 percent to close at 1,827.37 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 0.97 percent and 0.37 percent respectively. National Bank of Greece gained 0.38 percent to close at 30.90 euros, a new 52-week high. Similar highs were set by Folli-Follie, the Bank of Greece, Aluminium of Greece, construction company METKA and the Thessaloniki Port Authority. Significant blue chip gainers included Hyatt (up 2.04 percent to 10.02 euros), Hellenic Technodomiki (1.79 percent to 4.54 euros), Piraeus Bank (1.65 percent to 16.04 euros), Titan (1.30 percent to 28 euros), Alpha Bank (1.13 percent to 23.28 euros) and Coca-Cola HBC (1.02 percent to 23.84 euros). Of 338 traded stocks, 185 gained, 91 declined and 62 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 359.71 million euros, including 49.47 million in prearranged trade.
