The Athens Stock Exchange returned today (21/8) to the area above 1,430 points, with investors engaging in selective buying moves, leaving sellers in second place.

Of course, the upward movement took place at a low... tempo, given the lack of substantial catalysts that would allow a convincing break of the 1,400-unit resistance.

Analysts' attention, moreover, has been focused almost exclusively on the Fed chief's upcoming speech at Jackson Hole, where he is expected to kick off the US rate cut.

Against this backdrop, in the third session of the week, the General Index rose slightly by 0.49% to 1,432.53 points, up seven points from Tuesday's close (1,425.51 points).

The arc of daily fluctuations was fixed at nine points (from 1,425.17 to 1,434.58 points), with a trading turnover of just 69 million euros, of which 5.2 million euros related to pre-agreed packages.

Eurobank's share gained +3.74% and EUR 2.08, NBG's share rose +1.58% and EUR 8.082, Piraeus' share fell -0.41% and EUR 3.856, while Alpha Bank's share closed +0.22% and EUR 1.5865.

In the high-cap index (+0.60% and 3,488 points), Aegean's share expanded by 2.6% and exceeded EUR 11, approaching EUR 1 billion in terms of market capitalization, while AIA's share also gained around 2%. Titan Cement shares climbed above EUR 33 (+1.3%), hitting a new all-time high, with PPC, Elvalhalcor and EYDAP shares gaining at least 1%. On the flip side, shares of Ellaktor fell 1.7% to EUR 2.02. Motor Oil and Jumbo, at the same time, were down 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.

As for the mid-cap index (+0.16% and 2,269 points), PPA shares stood out positively at +2.3% and 26.1 euros, with Quest shares following more than +1.7%. Dimand's shares continued their rally from historic lows of EUR 8, climbing to EUR 9.8 (+1.9%). In contrast, Lavipharm's shares were limited to -1% and EUR 0.85. AVAX, EYATH and Optima lost up to 0.8%.