Greek stocks end mixed to higher on Thursday

Greek stocks ended mixed to higher on Thursday supported by continued buying activity in blue chip stocks, particularly banks, while smaller capitalisation stocks came under profit taking pressure and eased in the Athens Stock Exchange. The general index managed to recover earlier losses to end 0.32 percent higher at 1,952.13 points, with turnover an improved 186.1 million euros. The Construction, Banks and Cement sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (2.08 percent, 1.48 percent and 1.42 percent, respectively), while the Base Metal, Textile, Food-Beverage and Telecommunications sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (3.46 percent, 1.27 percent, 1.11 percent and 1.08 percent). The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.63 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 0.29 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index eased 0.14 percent. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 188 to 135 with another 37 issues unchanged.