Stocks rebound led by non-bank blue chips
The first May session in the Athens Exchange yesterday signalled a rebound for most stocks, recovering most of the ground lost on Monday. The ATHEX composite share index closed at 4,775.86 points, up from 4,736.83 points, a rise of 0.82 percent. In mid-session the index came close to the 4,800-point mark but could not sustain these heights. The FTSE/ATHEX 20 index of blue chips gained 0.58 percent to close at 2,537.77 points. The mid-cap FTSE/ATHEX 40 index rose by 0.68 percent while the small-cap FTSE/ATHEX 80 index grew by 0.22 percent. The FTSE/ATHEX International rose by 0.60 percent, to close at 6,767.55 points. All but four sectoral indices posted gains yesterday, with food and drink leading the way (2.98 percent), followed by telecommunications (2.58 percent) and petroleum (2.49 percent). The indices of media (-0.87 percent) and technology stocks (-0.47 percent) had the greatest losses. Most non-bank blue chips supported the index’s rise, led by Coca-Cola ( 4.35 percent) and OTE telecom (3.11 percent). Other blue chips heading northward were Hellenic Petroleum (2.52 percent), Motor Oil (2.47 percent) and the Postal Savings Bank (2.04 percent). Turnover reached a significant -450.9 million, including -53.3 million in prearranged trades.
