Market turns upward but remains volatile
Stocks gained yesterday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), putting an end to a four-session decline during which the market fell 1.63 percent. The ASE composite share price index closed at 3,977.84 points, a gain of 23.66 points or 0.60 percent. During the first month of the year, the index gained 8.57 percent. The FTSE/Athex 20 index of blue chips gained 0.45 percent to close at 2,175.07 points, while mid- and small-caps gained 0.44 percent and 0.59 percent respectively. The FTSE/Athex International index gained 0.46 percent to close at 5,477.17 points. Among blue chips, significant gains were recorded by metals group Viohalco (up 5.43 percent to 9.20 euros), cement producer Titan (2.14 percent to 36.20 euros), refiner Hellenic Petroleum (1.90 percent to 12.86 euros), telecommunications company OTE (1.82 percent to 19.04 euros), mobile telecommunications service provider Cosmote (1.60 percent to 19 euros) and EFG Eurobank (1.32 percent to 30.60 euros). By contrast, losses were suffered by electronics retailer Germanos (down 2.70 percent to 17.26 euros) and Duty Free Shops (2.06 percent to 16.16 euros). Out of 323 traded shares, 164 gained, 120 declined and 39 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 396.76 million euros, including 32.68 million in prearranged trades.
