ATHEX: Bank stocks pay no mind to grim reports

After four sessions in the red, bank stocks staged a notable recovery on Wednesday, shaking off negative reports on the local credit sector by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard & Poor's. The prospect of a deal with the country's creditors edged closer and fueled a late surge in prices that offset earlier losses.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 669.97 points, adding 0.53 percent to Tuesday's 666.44 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.65 percent to 1,793.82 points.

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday deemed that Greek banks were still high-risk, while BAML reduced its target prices for local banks' stocks, but the banks index rose 2.06 percent with National up 4.18 percent, Piraeus climbing 2.44 percent and Alpha adding 1.20 percent.

Titan Cement advanced 2.07 percent and Lamda Development shrank 1.91 percent.

In...