ECONOMY

National Bank leads the blue chip rebound

The benchmark Athens Exchange (ATHEX) index jumped 2.3 percent, to 3,869.56 points, after shedding 3.6 percent on Monday. The FTSE/ATHEX 20 index of the country’s biggest companies rose 2.6 percent to 2,001.97 points. National Bank jumped 7.5 percent, to 33.66 euros, its biggest gain since January 24. The country’s biggest bank by assets climbed with world financial stocks after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Intralot climbed 4.7 percent, to -11.10, the highest since February 12. The world’s second-largest gaming-services provider will probably say tomorrow before the start of trade on the Athens Exchange that profit last year increased after the company won contracts in Russia and South Korea and paid lower taxes, according to a survey of analysts. Bank of Greece advanced 4.1 percent, to 89.20, the biggest gain since February 2007. The country’s central bank said net income rose 16 percent last year and plans to pay a dividend of -3.20 a share, up 10 percent from a year earlier, according to a bourse filing after the close of trading yesterday. Eurobank jumped 4.1 percent, Titan advanced 4.2 percent and Bank of Cyprus won 4 percent. Turnover topped -374 million. (Bloomberg, Kathimerini)

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