Stocks rise on blue chip gains
Greek stocks ended higher yesterday as slight blue chip gains helped offset softening banks. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index rose 0.38 percent to 2,159.61 points, outperforming negative sessions on its major European peers. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index rose 0.28 percent to close at 1,112.56 points. Coca-Cola Hellenic jumped 5.59 percent to 13.98 euros, while Hellenic Exchanges, the holdings group that operates the Athens bourse, advanced 3.95 percent to 8.16 euros. On the downside, banks eased 0.03 percent. National Bank retreated 0.29 percent to 16.95 euros and peer Alpha lost 2.10 percent to 8.40 euros. Turnover reached 187.1 million euros versus 228 million euros in the previous session.
