ATHEX: Bourse index rises despite banks' drop

Bank stocks and the rest of the Greek stock market appeared to be in two parallel universes on Wednesday, as the former suffered losses after days of growth, while the vast majority of listed companies enjoyed gains for another day, taking the benchmark higher.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 705.21 points, adding 0.34% to Tuesday's 702.85 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index expanded 0.14% to close at 1,669.82 points, with mid-caps growing 0.89%.

The banks index declined 2.28%, as Piraeus conceded 4.67%, Alpha lost 3.24% and Eurobank fell 2.57%, while National notched up a 0.29% advance.

Among the other blue chips, Motor Oil jumped 6.07%, Ellaktor earned 5%, Public Power Corporation grabbed 4.52% and Athens Water (EYDAP) added 2.10%, as Aegean Air parted with 2.89% and Coca-Cola HBC gave up 1.29%.

In total 61 stocks recorded gains, 39...