ATHEX: Afternoon rally powers index to new 22-month high

Some traders started cashing in their gains after 10 days of stock growth on Tuesday morning, inflicting losses of 1 percent on the benchmark, but buyers staged a comeback in the afternoon, taking the index almost 2 percent over Monday's closing.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 778.37 points, a new 22-month high, adding 1.96 percent to Monday's 763.42 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index rose 2.11 percent to 2,081.23 points and the banks index jumped 3.06 percent.

Observers note the arrival of investors with long-term goals, which along with the expansion of interest beyond large-caps shows that the Greek market may be slowly regaining some of the ground lost when it was demoted from "developed" status.

In total 79 stocks advanced, 33 declined and 15 stayed put.

Turnover amounted to 141.3 million euros, up from Monday's 116.7 million.