Stocks rebound though mood remains guarded
Greek stocks rebounded after three straight losing sessions in thin trade yesterday, amid a recovery of mood in bourses abroad and with help from positive foreign reports for banks. Analysts said the rebound was of a technical character and that market players on the whole remained guarded. The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) general index gained 1.07 percent to close at 4,449.64 points. The blue chip FTSE/ASE 20 index was up 1.03 percent, the FTSE/ASE Mid-40 added 1.33 percent and the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 ended 0.62 percent higher. Banks National and Eurobank pulled their weight on the winning side, rising 1.92 percent and 2.00 percent respectively. Cosmote outperformed among blue chips, advancing 3.52 percent, Intralot rose 1.94 percent, Bank of Cyprus was up 1,71 percent and Coca-Cola HBC gained 1.56 percent. OPAP, Hellenic Petroleum, Motor Oil and OTE also headed north. By contrast, Titan, Folli-Follie, Hellenic Technodomiki, Public Power Corporation and banks Alpha, Emporiki and Piraeus ended in negative territory. All but four of the sectoral indices headed north, led by media, which rose 2.73 percent, followed by health with 2.44 percent. Banks gained 1.15 percent. Turnover totaled 335.8 million, of which 141.5 million was accounted for by banks Alpha, National and Eurobank.
