ATHEX: Fresh climb for Greek bourse benchmark

Stocks in Athens resisted pressures and continued their upward trajectory on Monday, with banks getting the credit for grabbing investors' attention and leading the benchmark higher, although turnover remained below the 50-million-euro mark. Traders appear to be pricing in a likely Greek credit rating upgrade this Friday by Standard & Poor's.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 867.16 points, adding 0.53 percent to Friday's 862.58 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.47 percent to 2,156.54 points, while the small-cap index contracted 0.17 percent.

The banks index grew 1.52 percent, with Piraeus advancing 2.08 percent, Eurobank climbing 1.70 percent, Alpha earning 1.50 percent and National collecting 0.98 percent. Titan Cement ascended 1.54 percent, Motor Oil increased 1.14 percent, Aegean Air rose 1.13 percent and Piraeus Port Authority...

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