Piraeus

ATHEX: OTE, banks weigh on benchmark

The decline of OTE telecom and profit taking in bank stocks saw the benchmark of the Greek bourse ease somewhat on Wednesday from Tuesday's nine-month highs, although the majority of stocks remained in the black for one more session. Reports on election handouts by the government did not help blue chips or bond prices, which also slipped from recent highs.

ATHEX: Banks keep driving stock index higher

The expected approval of a 1-billion-euro disbursement to Athens by Friday's Eurogroup, after Wednesday's favorable European Commission report, secured further gains for the majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue, which was accompanied by the continuing decline of Greek bond yields. The stock benchmark climbed to its highest level in almost eight months, just short of 750 points.

Pages