Local stocks pick up on fresh hopes

The Greek bourse’s four-session declining streak came to an end on Wednesday as news of a truce in Ukraine and the prospect of today’s European Central Bank statements helped to buoy up the main index, although declining stocks outnumbered the gainers again. Turnover also continued to rise.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 1,159.13 points, adding 1.13 percent to Tuesday’s 1,146.21 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index expanded by 1.42 percent to close at 375.85 points, although mid-caps posted a 0.64 percent decline.

Alpha Bank yesterday saw its total capitalization rise above that of Piraeus Bank (8.55 billion euros against 8.54 billion respectively), making it second only to National Bank (9.15 billion) among the market’s listed firms. Alpha gained 2.92 percent, beaten only by Eurobank, which rose by 3.12 percent. Coca-Cola HBC climbed 2.10 percent. Motor Oil was the biggest loser, giving up 2.48 percent.

In total 52 stocks reported gains, 62 sustained losses and 21 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 77 million euros, compared with Tuesday’s 66.8 million.