Banks raise general index to new heights
The rise continued on the Greek bourse yesterday as the market maintained its positive outlook, thanks to expectations of favorable financial figures by listed companies in the third quarter of the year. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index was up 0.30 percent, closing at 5,289.22 points yesterday from 5,273.64 points on Friday. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index grew by 0.39 percent, reaching 2,813.95 points. The mid-cap FTSE/ATHEX 40 index declined by 0.14 percent, while the small-cap FTSE/ATHEX 80 index rose by 0.32 percent. The FTSE/ATHEX International was up 0.33 percent to 7,528.20 points. Marfin Popular Bank led blue chips with a 3.14 percent daily rise, followed by Emporiki Bank (up 2.35 percent), Viohalco (2.16 percent), Intralot (1.62 percent), Bank of Cyprus (1.04 percent) and Coca-Cola HBC (1.03 percent). Most sectoral indices moved northward, with petrol outperforming (up 1.70 percent) ahead of utilities (1.05 percent), food and drink (0.96 percent) and financial services (0.77 percent). On the losing side were raw materials (down 1.31 percent), insurance (0.98 percent) and mass media (0.56 percent). Turnover rose to -437.09 million, of which -46.37 million concerned block trades.
