Stocks rise four days in a row
The Athens bourse advanced just over 3 percent yesterday, its fourth consecutive rising session, as banks extended recent gains. The benchmark general index rose 3.06 percent to 2,160.47 points, beating the mixed performances shown by other European exchanges. Analysts said the general index has returned to levels not seen since early November. Banks charged ahead 8.17 percent, pushing gains over the last month to 41 percent. National and Eurobank, the country’s two largest lenders, added 7.96 percent and 13.52 percent respectively. OTE telecom and Public Power Corporation (PPC) were among the blue chip underperformers. OTE slipped 1.44 percent to 11.62 euros and PPC dropped 2.89 percent to 14.10 euros. Turnover reached 392.2 million euros versus 190.7 million previously.
