Banks make more gains amid market slumber
Heavyweight banks and other financial stocks propelled Greek stocks above 3,800 points yesterday, the highest peak since the end of May, amid an upbeat mood on other European markets. Nevertheless, interest remained restricted to a small number of stocks, which either confirmed their potential in first-half results or seem to be attracting the special interest of particular investors. Turnover was especially low in the small-cap category. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index added 1.36 percent to close at 3,844.92 points, with all three capitalization indices rising in about equal measure. All sectoral indices, except travel and recreation, headed north, led by insurance, which climbed 4.79 percent. Financial services were up 2.54 percent and banks 1.69 percent. All but three blue chips gained, with Eurobank outperforming 2.63 percent higher. Alpha Bank climbed 2.24 percent higher, National Bank added 2.08 percent, Intracom gained 2.04 percent and OTE added 1.93 percent. Public Power Corporation, Coca-Cola HBC and Titan all gained more than 1 percent. OPAP, Motor Oil and Emporiki headed south. Turnover soared to 420.89 million euros, of which 121.18 million euros was accounted for by Bank of Cyprus and 106.39 million euros by Germanos.
