Blue chips drive ASE to a 62-month high
Stocks gained for the fifth session in a row on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) yesterday, reaching a 62-month high in yet another high-turnover session. The ASE composite share price index closed at 3,844.79 points, a gain of 45.77 points or 1.20 percent. The FTSE/Athex-20 index of blue chips gained 1.30 percent to close at 2,121.92 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 0.87 percent and 0.41 percent respectively. The new FTSE/Athex International index gained 1.24 percent to close at 5,257.06 points. Investor interest focused on EFG Eurobank and Alpha Bank, following positive reports and price target upgrades by Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. Merrill Lynch upgraded Eurobank to a «buy» with a share target price of 35 euros, while Citigroup’s Smith Barney raised Eurobank’s price target to 33 euros, from 31 previously, and Alpha’s to 31 euros, up from 28. EFG Eurobank gained 3.84 percent, closing at 29 euros, while Alpha gained 1.90 percent to 26.80 euros. Among other blue chips, OPAP gained 3.69 percent after announcing that Greek soccer games will be included in its «Pame Stoichima» (Let’s Bet) game. Of the 328 traded shares, 141 gained, 141 declined and 46 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 500.51 million euros, including 136.80 million in prearranged trades.
