ATHEX: Bourse index climbs above 800-pt mark

In its last session before the Christmas break, the benchmark of the Greek bourse topped 800 points in the closing auctions, on a day dominated by packages concerning stakes in National Bank, Eurobank and OTE.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended at 804.05 points, adding 1.38 percent to Thursday's 793.12 points. On a weekly basis it advanced 4.73 percent. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.59 percent to 2,087.09 points.

The banks index outperformed, improving 2.03 percent. It was led by Alpha (up 2.72 percent) and National (1.94 percent).

Among non-banking blue chips, Jumbo soared 4.90 percent, OPAP earned 3.03 percent and Folli Follie increased 2.54 percent, while PPC contracted 1.14 percent.

In total 72 stocks posted gains, 27 took losses and 31 remained unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 110.9 million euros (with 66 million of that...