Strong hopes for further stock gains
Investors will be looking to extend Friday’s gains this week after global equity markets also got off to a strong start to the year. On Friday, the Athens Exchange’s benchmark general index gained 1.42 percent, ending at 1,811.83 points. Gains on Britain’s FTSE index, Germany’s Dax and France’s CAC-40 ranged between 2.88 percent to more than 4 percent on the same day. Analysts expect trading to remain volatile – particularly in the first quarter of the year – with improved corporate earnings likely to appear in the second and third quarter, in line with a possible improvement in economic conditions. Among the items in local news bulletins that will draw investor attention this week will be OTE telecom’s extraordinary meeting of shareholders scheduled to take place on Thursday. The Athens bourse will be closed tomorrow due to the Epiphany national holiday.
