Equities in Athens traded higher at midday, but gave up some of their early gains, as investors preferred the safety of cash. Europe’s declines due to concerns about higher for longer interest rates and signs of fatigue from Chinese economy weighed. At home, banks rose , but fell from early highs. Eurobank’s offer to buy back its 1.4% stake held by the country’s bank backstop fund HFSF was well received by investors.

 

At 1311 local time, the general share index was 0.5% higher to 1224 points. Banks were up 2.4% , with Eurobank gaining 1.9%, Alpha +2%. Elsewhere, PPC rose 1.8%, OPAP +1.6%. In contact, OTE dropped 1.5%.