ATHEX: Late advance takes index back to black

The banks index at Athinon Avenue on Thursday came off Wednesday's 14-month highs, but the closing auctions served to ensure the benchmark ended in the black despite losing stocks' clear lead over the climbers. The market appears to have already factored in a credit rating upgrade expected on Friday night by Standard & Poor's.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 873.98 points, adding 0.10 percent to Wednesday's 873.13 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.18 percent to 2,167.65 points, while the mid-cap index contracted 0.65 percent.

The banks index slipped 0.33 percent, with National conceding 1.19 percent, Eurobank sliding 0.23 percent and Piraeus easing 0.13 percent. Leading blue chips higher were Fourlis (up 2.62 percent), Sarantis (2.30 percent), Hellenic Exchanges and Hellenic Petroleum (both rising 1.68 percent).

In total 42 made...