Cosmote, PPC pull blue chips against the grain
Cellular operator Cosmote and electricity utility Public Power Corporation (PPC) led Greek blue chips in bucking a southbound trend on foreign markets. But mid-caps and small-caps stayed weak. The benchmark Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed 0.64 percent up at 4.892.97 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index gained 0.30 percent, reaching 2,603.84 points, while the mid-cap and small-cap indices declined 0.36 percent and 0.11 percent respectively. The FTSE/ATHEX International was up 0.20 percent. Cosmote soared 7.50 percent to -24.08, while PPC was 6 percent higher at -24.38. OTE advanced 2.53 percent, Coca-Cola HBC climbed 2.29 percent to a new historic high of -37.50 and ATEbank gained 2.17 percent. Emporiki, Postal Savings Bank, Motor Oil, Viohalco and Intralot also headed north. By contrast, Eurobank declined 1.57 percent and Bank of Cyprus shed 1.46 percent. Marfin Popular Bank, Alpha Bank, Hellenic Technodomiki, OPAP and Titan also ended in negative territory. National Bank and Hellenic Petroleum were unchanged. Turnover reached -447.87 million, of which -101.38 million was in block trades. Analysts said the short-term outlook remains unclear and is directly dependent on the mood on foreign markets.
