Blue chips lead the way toward 4,700 pts
Greek stocks staged a surprising rebound yesterday after Tuesday’s losses, with four blue chips – Public Power Corporation, National Bank, Hellenic Petroleum and Intralot – surging more than 3 percent higher. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index closed 1.38 percent higher at 4,698.21 points, with all capitalizations gaining. The blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 was up 1.41 percent, the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 gained 1.76 percent and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 ended 1.01 percent higher. All but two of the sectoral indices (construction and personal and household products) gained, led by media (up 3.32 percent) and utilities (3.16 percent). National Bank added 3.17 percent to 39.00 euros, after rising higher than 4 percent during the session. Analysts said if it attains 39.1 points, it will be targeting 41.60 euros in the medium term. Piraeus Bank and Motor Oil ended more than 2 percent higher, while Alpha Bank gained 1.60 percent. Emporiki, Folli-Follie, OTE, Cosmote, ATEbank, Eurobank and Postal Savings Bank also advanced. Bank of Cyprus and OPAP were stable. Turnover reached a new eight-month high at 560.85 million euros, of which 176.87 million was accounted for by National Bank.
