Banks, telecoms power on as small-caps gasp
The Greek stock market continued moving higher yesterday, thanks to a strong performance by banks and telecoms which left small-caps gasping for breath. Just four stocks accounted for more than half of the day’s turnover. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index ended 0.72 percent higher at 4,732.76 points. The blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 added 0.85 percent and the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 gained 0.57 percent. The FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 was down 0.42 percent. Leading the market, National Bank outperformed blue chips, adding 2.38 percent, while OTE telecom ended 1.60 percent higher, and Folli-Follie and Viohalco continued their advance, rising 1.27 percent and 1.25 percent respectively. Cosmote, Intralot, and all other major banks ended in positive territory. By contrast, Titan cement was down 1.10 percent and Public Power Corporation lost 1.00 percent after a downgrade by Morgan Stanley. ATEbank, Coca-Cola HBC, Hellenic Technodomiki, OPAP and Motor Oil headed south, while Hellenic Petroleum ended unchanged. Turnover totaled -543.05 million, of which -304.8 million was accounted for by banks National, Piraeus and Alpha, and OTE telecom. Insurance led sectoral indices with gains of 3.65 percent.
