ATHEX: Banks keep main index in the black

A late surge by banks and some other blue chips helped the benchmark of the Greek stock market remain on the upward course it start last Friday and close Monday's session with moderate growth, albeit with the smallest turnover in a week. Moody's may have not restored Greece's rating to investment grade last Friday but it has revised the sovereign rating's outlook as well as that of National Bank and Alpha.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,423.61 points, adding 0.31% to Friday's 1,419.24 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.28%, ending at 3,450.69 points.

The banks index advanced 0.68%, as Alpha earned 2.62%, National fetched 1.07% and Eurobank augmented 0,23%, while Piraeus eased 0.70%. Autohellas grabbed 1.82%, Lamda Development obtained 1.72% and Titan Cement climbed 1.26%, as ElvalHalcor parted with 1.07%.

In total 43 stocks...