ATHEX: Greek stocks rise after PM meets Merkel

Optimists came out on top at the end of Thursday?s Athens bourse session, as the positive signs from the meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to have give the negotiation process a boost. It was the second consecutive day of gains for the benchmark, although trading volume slipped below 100 million euros.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 736.60 points, rising 2.39 percent from Wednesday?s 719.43 points. The large-cap FTSE/ATHEX 25 index expanded 2.69 percent to close at 220.01 points.

Jumbo outperformed among the blue chips, rising 7.63 percent, with Piraeus Bank a close second (up 7.36 percent) and EYDAP not far behind (7.16 percent). Alpha Bank grew 6.84 percent. There were only two decliners: METKA (down 0.59 percent) and Aegean Airlines (0.43 percent).

In total 74 stocks reported gains, 20 sustained losses and 20 stayed unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 83.5 million euros, down from Wednesday?s 101.3 million.