NBG leads market up by sheer weight alone
Greek stocks maintained their winning streak for a fourth straight day yesterday, with blue chips outperforming amid a positive climate on other European markets. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index was 0.82 percent up at 3,698.73 points. The blue chip index gained 0.94 percent, while the mid- and small-cap indices both added 0.46 percent. Bellwether National Bank advanced 2.59 percent, accounting for 91.1 million euros of the market’s total turnover of 249.1 million on the second day after the floating of 3 billion euros’ worth of new shares, after the recent rights issue. Only three of sectoral indices edged south as insurance spearheaded gains of 3.79 percent. Banks were up 1.31 percent. ATEbank surged 3.26 percent higher, Alpha Bank added 1.64 percent and Eurobank was up 1.25 percent. Among other blue chips, Motor Oil won 1.44 percent, OTE telecom added 1.18 percent and Public Power Corporation gained 1.08 percent. Hellenic Technodomiki, Viohalco, Duty Free Shops and OPAP also gained, while Piraeus Bank and Germanos remained steady. In contrast, Titan slid 1.99 percent and Coca-Cola HBC and Cosmote were down 1.89 percent. Hyatt, Emporiki Bank, Intracom and Folli Follie also headed south.
