ATHEX: New 17-month high for stock market index

News from Friday's Eurogroup meeting in Malta untied investors' purse strings in Athens and sent the benchmark to a new 17-month high, ahead of a week expected to offer easy gains given the customary drop in trade as Easter approaches.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 681.08 points, adding 1.48 percent to Thursday's 671.15 points. On a weekly basis it added 2.26 percent. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 1.58 percent to 1,819.50 points.

Buyers were mainly focused on banks after news broke of the upcoming return of creditors' representatives to Athens. The sector's index climbed 4.73 percent, with Alpha soaring 5.95 percent, Eurobank jumping 4.46 percent, Piraeus rising 4.14 percent and National up 3.29 percent.

Hellenic Petroleum improved 4.12 percent and Hellenic Exchanges posted gains of 3.35 percent, while Motor Oil fell 1.73 percent.<...