Rebound based on low turnover for most stocks
Greek stocks rebounded strongly across the board yesterday, responding to positive news from foreign stock markets. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index closed 1.92 percent higher at 3,617.07 points. The blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 index added 1.84 percent, the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 was up 1.92 percent and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 jumped 2.68 percent. The overall positive picture may be partly deceptive as in several if not most cases profits arose from minimal turnover – a sign that investors remain highly cautious. Nevertheless, all sectoral indices headed north, led by raw materials, which climbed 3.23 percent, followed by telecoms, which went up 2.94 percent. Among blue chips, ATEbank surged 3.33 percent, OTE telecom advanced 2.99 percent, Cosmote and Coca-Cola HBC both climbed 2.79 percent, National Bank added 2.34 percent, Eurobank gained 2.17 percent, Alpha Bank was up 2.02 percent and Titan cement 1.96 percent. In contrast, Emporiki kept sliding (1.52 percent), after Bank of Cyprus appeared to be out of the race for its privatization – climbing another 3.36 percent. Turnover rose to 257.41 million euros, of which more than half was accounted for by the four most marketable securities, National Bank, OPAP, OTE and Emporiki Bank.
