Utilities pull index higher ahead of polls
Stocks ended the last week before the elections with a rise, in defiance of the negative climate internationally and boosted by state utilities OTE and PPC, which saw significant rises on the expectation that the government will garner another term tomorrow. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index was up 0.32 percent, closing at 4,861.79 points from 4,846.08 on Thursday. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index added 0.34 percent, reaching 2,596.06 points, while the mid-cap FTSE/ATHEX 40 index continued its decline, shedding 0.39 percent. The small-cap FTSE/ATHEX 80 index fell by 0.13 percent. The FTSE/ATHEX International was up 0.23 percent to 6,933.97 points. OTE and Cosmote led blue chips higher with respective rises of 4.77 percent and 3.13 percent. PPC followed with gains of 2.40 percent, ahead of Bank of Cyprus (up 1.98 percent) and Coca-Cola HBC (1.55 percent). Leading the losers were Hellenic Technodomiki TEV (down 2.14 percent), OPAP (1.91 percent) and Postal Savings Bank (1.24 percent). Most sectoral indices moved southward, but telecommunications bucked the trend with a 4.32 percent rise. Travel and entertainment fell by 1.40 percent and personal and household goods declined by 0.93 percent. Turnover rose to -422.36 million, of which -115.25 million was in block trades.
