Construction group Ellaktor’s decision to return 85 cents per share to shareholders galvanized the Greek stock market on Friday, after its three-day recess, and drove the benchmark higher despite the limited trading volume one would expect from the festive season anyway. Mid-caps actually outperformed, while banks lagged.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,457.38 points, adding 0.59% to Monday’s 1,448.86 points. On a weekly basis it improved 0.34%. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.50%, ending at 3,539.42 points, and mid-caps advanced 0.99%.
The banks index earned 0.31%, as National rose 0.63%, Eurobank collected 0.49% and Alpha grabbed 0.25%, though Piraeus slipped 0.10% and Optima Bank dropped 1.41%. Ellaktor soared 9.64%, Helleniq Energy jumped 3.83%, and Motor Oil augmented 1.79%.
In total 60 stocks secured gains, 39 suffered losses and 25 remained unchanged.
Turnover was the lowest in over a month, amounting to 72.6 million euros, down from Monday’s €86.7 million.
In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 0.67% to close at 213.94 points.