Stocks soar on mood reversal
Stocks on the Greek bourse soared yesterday in line with global markets after intervention by several countries’ central banks to increase cash flow and the decision by US and British regulators to ban short-selling in financial companies until the end of the year. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 3,209.26 points yesterday, a massive rise of 8.68 percent from Thursday. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index climbed by 10.64 percent to end the day at 1,766.94 points. Observers noted that the rise in the local market was also due to the expiry of derivatives and the coverage of open short-sale positions. All blue chips posted gains, led by Marfin Investment Group (up 18.41 percent), National Bank (17.30 percent) and Piraeus Bank (16.98 percent). Turnover came to 584 million euros.
