Turnover up as stocks rise 2.6 pct
The good news on the bond market provided a much-needed boost to the local bourse, with banks spearheading across-the-board gains yesterday. Traders suggested that banks attracted particular interest from foreign investors. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,567.48 points, growing by 2.61 percent from Monday’s close at 1,527.58 points. The FTSE/ATHEX 20 index of blue chip stocks grew by 3.14 percent to end up at 750.75 points. Marfin Investment Group led blue chips with 7.27 percent growth, ahead of Bank of Cyprus (6.29 percent), Marfin Popular Bank (5.30 percent) and Eurobank EFG (4.62 percent). Mytilineos, ATEbank and National Bank also posted gains in excess of 3 percent, with the latter rising above 10 euros (10.34 at closing) for the first time in 16 sessions. A total of 128 stocks headed north, 48 lost ground and 46 remained unchanged. Klonatex led the gainers with a 16.67 percent rise, as Euroholdings was the worst off, ending down 14.29 percent. Turnover came to a much more respectable 127.2 million euros, up from 54.6 million on Monday.
