Mid- and small-caps lead way to new high
Stocks gained yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), ending at a new year-high, as investors mostly went after medium- and small-capitalization stocks. The market also benefited from positive sentiment in European bourses. The ASE general index closed at 3,323.66 points, a gain of 23.42 points or 0.71 percent. Mid-caps and small-caps gained 1.67 percent and 1.17 percent respectively. Medium-sized and small banks continued their gains. Thus, ATE Bank gained 7 percent, Egnatia 6.40 percent, Aspis 4 percent and Bank of Attica 3.69 percent. Among blue chips, there were significant gains by CosmOTE (up 2.51 percent to 16.32 euros), Viohalco (2.46 percent to 5.84 euros), Emporiki Bank (1.92 percent to 26.50 euros), Hellenic Technodomiki (1.79 percent to 4.56 euros) and EFG Eurobank (1.47 percent to 27.62 euros). By contrast, telecoms equipment firm Intracom fell 2.51 percent to 4.66 euros, cement company Titan 1.63 percent to 27.68 euros, bottler Coca-Cola HBC 0.42 percent to 23.96 euros, and betting company OPAP 0.39 percent to 25.68 euros. Of 336 traded stocks, 181 gained, 83 declined and 72 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 234.42 million euros, including 37.66 million in prearranged trade.
