Big gains, heavy sales
The Athens Stock Exchange general index closed last Friday at 3,252.15 points, a gain of 133.39 points or 4.28 percent on the previous week’s close. The general index, helped by intense investor interest in the state’s sale of a 16.44 percent stake in betting company OPAP, has now reached levels last seen in May 2001. Thanks to the OPAP sale, turnover jumped to 2.57 billion euros, an average of 514.21 million euros per session, from 183.33 million the previous week. All Financial Times indices gained. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips rose 4.68 percent, to close at 1,829.77 points, while the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 gained 5.39 percent and 4.30 percent, respectively. The composite FTSE/ASE-140 gained 4.75 percent to close at 3,824.86. Only two of the 18 sectoral indices showed losses. They were IT solutions and equipment (3.54 percent) and real estate (0.96 percent). Top gainers were insurance (9.36 percent), basic metals (9.15 percent) and telecommunications (6.53 percent). Among the 345 individual titles traded, 259 gained, 65 declined and 21 ended unchanged. The top gainers were Pouliadis and Associates (47.37 percent), Euclides (42.11 percent) And G. Leventakis Tex (40.82 percent). Top losers were the preferred shares (1990) of shipping company ANEK (18.38 percent), followed by the preferred shares of Alisida (16.67 percent) and the common stock of Varveris-Moda Bagno (13.19 percent). OPAP topped the list of the most heavily traded shares, with an average turnover of 351.93 million euros per session. It was trailed by National (26.33 million) and Alpha banks (23.33 million).
