BOC hits 4-year high, pulls GENX to record

Bank of Cyprus shares surged 3.9% in Greece to a new record close of EUR 3.72 or CYP 2.13 on Monday and in the process pulled the stock trading on the CSE to a 4-year record close of CYP 2.08.

In the process, the BOC rally helped the CSE GENX, the Footsie and the Main/Parallel indices to fresh 2005 highs.

The stampede to buy started in early trades when the slide in oil prices combined with strong buying on the Bank’s shares because of its spectacular first half performance drove investors to break through the previous high of EUR 3.60 and head higher.

By the close of business on Monday, BOC closed at a fresh record of EUR 3.72 or CYP 2.13 on 836.000 shares or EUR 3.08 mln (CYP 1.76 mln) volume, bucking the moderate decline in Greek shares.

The buying interest in Greece soon spread to Cyprus with the Bank’s share price jumping immediately above its Friday 2.03 closing price to end the day, up 2.5% at CYP 2.08 on CYP 730.000 shares volume, which accounted for half of the total CYP 1.58 volume transacted on the CSE.

The Monday close brings the BOC shares to just under their August 2001 close of CYP 2.10. Technical charts prepared by the Financial Mirror suggest that a closing and clear break above 2.10 should trigger a move to 2.45, then 2.65/2.75 area.

The BOC advance also helped the other major banking titles higher. Laiki Bank advanced 1.4% on the day to a new closing high of CYP 1.48, followed closely by Hellenic Bank, up 2% at 48.2 cent.

The rally in banking share titles helped the CSE GENX close at a fresh high of 91.63 points, the FTSE/CySE 20 also at a new record of 449.45 points, while the CSE Main/Parallel market index hit its highest level of 1332.66 points, since it made its debut in September 2004.