Interest in small-caps and OPAP boosts ASE
Stocks gained on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) on Monday, despite the low turnover, in a session marked by investor interest in small-capitalization stocks, which outperformed for the third straight day. The bourse was closed yesterday. The ASE composite share price index closed at 3,858.17 points, a gain of 41.38 points or 1.08 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index of blue chips gained 1.14 percent to close at 2,097.20 points, while mid-caps and small-caps gained 0.60 percent and 1.28 percent respectively. The FTSE/Athex International gained 1.04 percent to close at 5,407.38 points. All sectoral indices, with the exception of publishing and printing, posted gains. Among blue chips, only cement producer Titan and Emporiki Bank declined (0.42 percent and 0.41 percent respectively). Betting company OPAP led the gains, rising 3.85 percent to 29.70 euros on the back of strong interest from a foreign institutional investor. Other significant gainers included mobile telecommunications company Cosmote (1.66 percent to 18.34 euros), refiner Hellenic Petroleum (1.34 percent to 10.60 euros), electricity company PPC (1.20 percent to 18.60 euros) and Alpha Bank (1.15 percent to 21.08 euros). Among 304 traded shares, 191 gained, 67 declined and 46 ended unchanged. Turnover reached 136.87 million euros, including 29.03 million in prearranged trades.
