Investors have one eye on earnings
Greek stocks may pause for breath today after soaring more than 3 percent on Friday as investors eye blue chip earnings expected to be announced this week. The Athens bourse benchmark general index jumped 3.35 percent on Friday to 2,479.85 points, bringing gains for the week to 5.9 percent. Blue chip companies scheduled to report first-half figures this week include National Bank, Public Power Corporation and OPAP. The second-quarter reporting season winds up at the end of August. On Friday, Deutsche Bank lifted its price target on several Greek banks. Among the changes made by the brokerage was an increase in the price target or National Bank to 24.50 euros from 22 euros previously. International investor sentiment is favorable after positive macroeconomic data on Friday helped push the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq to the highest levels since last October on Wall Street.
