Athens Exchange

ATHEX: Late rally takes index over 1,400 pts

A late rally at Athinon Avenue gave the benchmark of the Greek bourse fresh momentum on Thursday, allowing it to easily surpass the 1,400-point barrier and close the day on a high. Non-bank blue chips outperformed, boosting a market that continues to have very high daily turnover levels since the placement of Piraeus Bank shares last week.

ATHEX: Local index slumps below 1,400-pt mark

The index rebalancing, the constant rally of stocks in recent weeks, the decline of Piraeus Bank (the protagonist of the past week) and the reservations investors showed in foreign markets contributed to a day of major losses at the Greek stock market on Monday, which brought the benchmark below the 1,400-point mark on unusually high turnover.

HFSF sets Piraeus Bank share price at 4 euros

Greece's bank bailout fund (HFSF) on Wednesday set the price for the sale of its 27% holding in Piraeus Bank at 4 euros per share, valuing the stake at €1.35 billion.

The sale, part of a wider re-privatization of Greek banks bailed out during the debt crisis, attracted strong demand and was more than eight times oversubscribed, a source told Reuters.

ATHEX: Dead heat for stocks in bourse

Stocks were evenly split between winners and losers at Wednesday's session in the Greek bourse, though the benchmark recovered half of the ground it had lost on Tuesday, all in the context of the completion of Piraeus Bank's share placement. This has absorbed a significant portion of the market's liquidity, not only this week but also in the previous couple of weeks.

ATHEX: Trading day for all kinds of tastes

Tuesday offered traders at Athinon Avenue an extensive menu for all appetites, ranging from the drop in bank prices, led by Piraeus after the soaring of the stock on Monday, to the rise of most stocks and the mid-cap index. The benchmark came off Monday's 13-year record high to post some losses, while turnover remained at high levels.

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