ATHEX: Late rally by banks boosts benchmark

The banking sector shook off foreign and domestic concerns - related to the decline of US lender First Republic and the promise by main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras to nationalize National Bank of Greece if he comes to power - and swung to gains at the end of Wednesday's bourse session, leaving the benchmark with moderate gains. Rising stocks outnumbered the losers by the smallest of margins.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,096.42 points, adding 0.54% to Tuesday's 1,090.53 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.52% to end up at 2,654.53 points.

The banks index rebounded 2.31%, with National growing 3.65%, Alpha recovering 2.88%, Piraeus earning 1.88% and Eurobank grabbing 1.06%. Sarantis rose 2.66%, Aegean Airlines collected 2.33% and Ellaktor climbed 2.01%, as Mytilineos lost 1.56%, OTE telecom contracted 1.19% and Jumbo parted with...