Rising banks lead rebound
Greek stocks added more than 1 percent yesterday, with investor sentiment getting a boost from the year’s first debt sale. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index rose 1.09 percent to 1,369.35 points after dipping 2.6 percent on Monday. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 20 index advanced 1.89 percent to end at 636.30 points. National Bank jumped 3.55 percent to 5.84 euros and Eurobank EFG moved ahead 5.23 percent to 3.42 euros. Piraeus Bank ended at 1.59 euros, up 5.30 percent. Brokerage National Securities cut its price target on Piraeus Bank to 1.70 euros, from 4 euros, taking into account the upcoming rights issue. It kept its neutral rating on the bank. Power company PPC climbed 1.93 percent to 10.55 euros and construction group Ellaktor rose 3.33 percent to 3.10 euros. Turnover rose to 113.2 million euros from 97 million in the previous session.
