Banks lead vigorous blue chip rebound
Greek stocks rebounded on blue chip strength after five consecutive losing sessions yesterday, and with foreign markets in a positive mood. Mid-caps and small-caps made only meager gains. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) was 0.84 percent higher at 4,647.49 points. The blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 index added 1.12 percent, mainly powered by banks, the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 gained 0.15 percent and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 was up 0.05 percent. Construction company Hellenic Technodomiki outperformed among blue chips, climbing 4.16 percent after UBS started coverage of the stock with a «buy» recommendation. Bank of Cyprus rebounded with gains of 2.14 percent, Eurobank was 1.92 percent higher, Public Power Corporation continued recent gains, adding 1.86 percent, National Bank advanced 1.66 percent and Piraeus Bank was up 1.36 percent. Motor Oil, ATEbank, Emporiki, Viohalco, OPAP, OTE and Titan also gained. Coca-Cola HBC, Hellenic Petroleum and Postal Savings Bank ended unchanged, while Cosmote, Folli-Follie and Intralot headed south. Turnover totaled 451.38 million euros, of which 149.4 million was accounted for by banks Marfin Popular and National. Twelve of the ASE’s 17 sectoral indices headed north, led by banks, which added 1.49 percent.
