Gains across the board; refiners steal the show
Stocks gained yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), in a session marked by a recovery of small-capitalization stocks and a pickup in turnover. The ASE general index closed at 3,264.37 points, a gain of 18.88 points or 0.58 percent. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips gained 0.46 percent to close at 1,806.87 points, while mid- and small-caps gained 0.28 percent and 1.08 percent respectively. The day belonged to refiners, both of whom posted year highs. Motor Oil surged 3.42 percent, to close at 18.14 euros, after it announced that Saudi Arabian oil group Aramco sold its share to co-owners the Vardinoyiannis family. Hellenic Petroleum gained 3.09 percent to close at 10.68 euros. Other year-highs were set by IT and telecommunications company Infoquest, which gained a whopping 17.79 percent, and Internet service provider Forthnet. Among blue chips, Coca-Cola HBC gained 3.01 percent to close at 23.92 euros and Titan gained 1.56 percent, closing at 28.64 euros. By contrast, Emporiki Bank declined 2.36 percent to 23.20 euros and PPC slid 1.91 percent, to 19.50 euros. Of 333 traded stocks, 151 gained, 109 declined and 73 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 218.32 million euros, including 38.05 million in prearranged trades.
