Blue chips keep main index afloat
Most stocks on the Greek bourse suffered losses yesterday but the main index had some small gains to show, thanks to investors snapping up certain blue chips. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,512.42 points yesterday, expanding by 0.38 percent from Tuesday’s close at 1,506.71 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index rose 0.43 percent to end at 737.96 points. Nevertheless, mid- and small-caps saw their indices decline by 0.83 percent and 1.26 percent respectively. Public Power Corporation was the main driving force behind the general index and posted a 4.76 percent rise. Other blue chips that made notable gains were Jumbo (up 3.16 percent) and OPAP (2.87 percent), on a day with little movement for major banks (National Bank gained just 0.25 percent). Heading south were Viohalco (1.37 percent) and ATEbank (1.02 percent). A total of 51 stocks went up, 112 ended with losses and 53 remained unchanged. Crown Hellas Can and Atlantic Supermarkets led the gainers with a 20 percent limit-up, while Marac Electronics posted the biggest losses (down 16.67 percent). Turnover came to just 77.5 million euros, down from 122.4 million on Tuesday.
