Stocks opened higher in Athens bucking Europe’s declining trends, with banks coming under the spotlight. Eurobank’s offer to buy back its 1.4% stake held by the country’s bank backstop fund has sent the stock sharply higher and it is expected to impact positively the whole sector. 

 

At 1033 local time, the general share index was up 0.9% to 1229 points. Banks were up 3.3% with Eurobank gaining 4.5%.