ATHEX: Piraeus adds to index gains

Building on Monday's advance, Piraeus Bank shares continued to soar on Tuesday, buoying up National and Alpha for another day of healthy gains in the credit sector of the Greek stock market. That carried the benchmark above the 650-point level following three consecutive northbound days.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 652.71 points, adding 0.85 percent to Monday's 647.19 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.53 percent to 1,729.38 points, while the small-cap index contracted 0.46 percent.

The banks index jumped 3.41 percent, with Piraeus climbing 15.08 percent, Alpha ascending 5.62 percent and National growing 3.11 percent, while Eurobank ended 1.33 percent lower. Viohalco improved 7.24 percent and PPC rose 3.42 percent, as OTE telecom slipped 0.37 percent.

In total 59 stocks reported gains, 41 endured losses and 32 remained unchanged...