Athens bourse gains ground
Assurances from authorities over the health of Greece’s banking system helped encourage buying activity on the Athens bourse yesterday, which reversed earlier losses. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,856.47 points yesterday, increasing by 0.55 percent from Monday, despite showing a 3.11 percent drop early in the session. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index gained 0.87 percent to end at 1,565.61 points. The small-cap and mid-cap indices registered losses, however. Banks led the recovery of the general index, headed by Marfin Investment Group (up 9.65 percent), which announced yesterday a 5-billion-euro share capital increase. Public Power Corporation regained some ground (7.75 percent) after the slide on Monday that saw its shares shrink by over 22 percent. Turnover came to 384.9 million euros.
