Banks lead in stocks rebound
The local bourse staged a considerable rebound yesterday, particularly in the latter half of the session, recovering some of the huge losses incurred since the start of the year. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index grew to 1,551.28 points yesterday, soaring by 5.57 percent from Monday’s close. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index rose by 6.78 percent to close at 767.13 points. The banks index climbed by an impressive 11.45 percent, on favorable news from Citigroup. The question now is whether this interest in banks can spread across the board. All but two blue chips posted gains, led by National Bank (up 15.21 percent), Alpha Bank (12.43 percent) and Piraeus Bank (12.15 percent). Those that fell were Public Power Corporation (down 0.66 percent) and Hellaktor (0.50 percent). Turnover reached 131.5 million euros.
