ATHEX: Third day of gains at the Athens bourse

The prospect that the government and its creditors will reach a staff-level agreement by next week took the benchmark of the Greek bourse to a new high for 2017 on Wednesday and close to a 16-month high, while it was the third session in a row that most stocks posted gains and turnover rose.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 668.55 points, adding 0.61 percent to Tuesday's 664.52 points. It has risen 5.19 percent so far this week. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.40 percent to 1,780.08 points and mid-caps jumped 2.03 percent.

There was more growth for bank stocks too, as their index notched up 1.51 percent: Eurobank improved 4.11 percent, National was up 2.12 percent and Piraeus increased 1.73 percent. Ellaktor continued its ascendancy (up 7.94 percent), while Lamda Development declined 2.11 percent.

In total 68 stocks posted gains, 35...