New rise brings general index above 3,300 pts
Stocks gained yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) for the fifth session in a row, with investors, buoyed from the positive mood across Europe, mostly chasing medium-capitalization titles. The ASE general index closed at 3,307.56 points, a gain of 26.50 points or 0.81 percent. This is the highest close since April 18, 2001. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 0.76 percent to close at 1,850.71 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 1.29 percent and 0.48 percent respectively. Significant blue chip gainers included Intracom (up 4.35 percent to 4.32 euros), cement company Titan (3.39 percent to 28.70 euros), metals group Viohalco (2.70 percent to 6.08 euros), refiner Hellenic Petroleum (2.37 percent to 9.50 euros), casino and hotel operator Hyatt (2.18 percent to 10.60 euros), electricity company PPC (1.84 percent to 21.08 euros), EFG Eurobank (1.65 percent to 26.94 euros) and Alpha Bank (1.12 percent to 23.38 euros). Of 338 traded stocks, 165 gained, 103 declined and 70 ended unchanged. Turnover increased to 213.20 million euros, including 17 million in prearranged trades. The most heavily traded stock, in terms of actual shares changing hands, was Lan-net (1,685,956), while in terms of value, OPAP was the leader, with a turnover of 33.61 million euros.
