Late buying spree halts losing streak

The sudden appearance of buyers at the end of Wednesday’s local bourse session turned things around for the benchmark, granting it gains of nearly 1 percent and putting an end to five consecutive days of decline.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,270.34 points, expanding 0.94 percent from Tuesday’s 1,258.48 points. The blue chip FTSE/ATHEX 25 rose 1.03 percent to close at 411.57 points, although the small-cap index slipped 0.19 percent.

Observers commented that despite the late spike in the session, the market remains on a correction course, consolidating the growth chalked up in previous weeks, ahead of Thursday’s Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg and Friday’s June triple-witching.

Piraeus Bank outperformed its blue chip peers as it added 4.76 percent, followed by Terna Energy (up 3.64 percent), Folli Follie (3.47 percent) and Marfin Investment Group (2.80 percent). EYDAP and Eurobank posted the biggest declines, of 1.81 percent and 1.76 percent respectively.

In total 68 stocks registered gains, 61 sustained losses and 17 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 113.2 million euros, up from Tuesday’s 105.2 million.