ATHEX: Rising streak continues for a sixth week

March started on a high note for local stocks on Friday, ending another week of gains on brisk trading volume, capped by profit-taking in the session's last few hours after prices peaked.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 712.61 points, adding 0.72 percent to Thursday's 707.51 points. On a weekly basis it grew 5.28 percent, advancing for a sixth consecutive week, a feat not seen since 2013.
The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.93 percent to 1,852.92 points, and the banks index improved 0.51 percent, holding on to just a fraction of its earlier gains.
Piraeus Bank ascended 3.66 percent, Alpha climbed 1.13 percent, Eurobank slipped 0.30 percent and National dropped 1.26 percent. Mid-cap Attica Bank soared 28.21 percent.
In total 59 stocks secured gains, 30 took losses and 31 closed unchanged.
Turnover remained above the 100-million-euro...