Ascent interrupted; PPC, Bank of Cyprus shine
Greek stocks nudged lower from 92-month highs after eight consecutive winning sessions yesterday, with only small-caps managing to buck the trend. The Public Power Corporation and Bank of Cyprus outperformed among blue chips, attaining new historic highs. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 5,236.17 points, with a loss of 0.21 percent. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index was unchanged, the FTSE/ATHEX 40 mid-cap index slipped 0.55 percent lower and the FTSE/ATHEX 80 small-cap index ended 0.47 percent higher. The FTSE/ATHEX International nudged down 0.06 percent. A buoyant Public Power Corporation led blue chips, surging 3.93 percent to -29.10 and Bank of Cyprus climbed 3.66 percent to -13.58. OPAP, Alpha Bank, Emporiki Bank and Marfin Popular Bank also ended higher. By contrast, Piraeus Bank dropped 1.59 percent, and OTE shed 1.54 percent. Banks National, ATE and Eurobank, Coca-Cola HBC, Hellenic Technodomiki, Cosmote, Motor Oil and Titan also headed south. Turnover rose to -781.46 million, of which -364.21 million was in block trades, including -290.20 million for shares of Piraeus Bank. The total capitalization of the ATHEX reached -200.8 billion.
