ATHEX: Banks boost benchmark at the close

Wednesday's session at the Greek stock market bore a great resemblance to Tuesday's, only with significantly greater gains upon closing after the late rally that banks staged in the closing auctions. Once again the benchmark closed higher and the majority of stocks suffered losses, given also the drop recorded by mid-caps. The 1,100-point mark is now within reach for the main index.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,095.96 points, adding 0.78% to Tuesday's 1,087.49 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.04% to end up at 2,656.07 points, while mid-caps contracted 0.24%.

The banks index rebounded 2.66%, as Piraeus advanced 4.71%, Eurobank grew 3.97%, Alpha grabbed 2.33% and National was up 0.21%. Coca-Cola HBC improved 2.11%, just as Athens Water (EYDAP) sank 3.52%, Sarantis gave up 2.88%, Lamda Development eased 2.51% and Aegean Airlines...