Small-caps help index recover some ground
Greek stocks returned to an upward course following five days of pressure with a total loss of 4.98 percent. Yesterday the Athens Stock Exchange general index gained 12.60 points, or 0.31 percent, in harmony with the rebound in European markets, closing at 4,114.65 points. The index started the day with a 0.92 percent dive but then marched northward with small-cap stocks outperforming mid-caps and blue chips. The blue-chip FTSE/Athex 20 index rose 0.21 percent; the FTSE/Athex Mid-40 gained 0.03 percent and the FTSE/Athex Small-Cap 80 ended 2.48 percent higher. The rise was led by the telecommunications sector, with OTE gaining 3.45 percent and Cosmote 2.61 percent. Among blue chips, gains were recorded for Coca-Cola (3.40 percent), Intracom (1.81 percent), Emporiki Bank (1.35 percent) and Alpha Bank (0.95 percent). On the contrary, Titan lost almost all Monday’s gains (down 2.46 percent), followed by Piraeus Bank (-2.27 percent), Motor Oil (-1.95 percent), Duty Free (-1.23 percent), ATEbank (-1.22 percent) and National Bank (-0.88 percent). Turnover totaled 792.14 million euros, 402.27 million of which concerned the purchase of 31.5 percent of Marfin by Dubai Investment.
