BOC pulls CSE higher

Another rally staged by the shares of Bank of Cyprus was instrumental in pulling the CSE to yet another fresh record high for the year, with the prospects for the BOC shares improving following the buy recommendation issued by Deutsche Bank.

BOC shares ended Friday up 3.93% at CYP 2.38 on the CSE after hitting an intra-day high of CYP 2.40, while in Greece, the Bank’s shares ended at a new record of EUR 4.18 or CYP 2.39. In intra-day trading the Bank’s shares touched a record of EUR 4.22 or CYP 2.4.

Total volume in Greece amounted to 1.76 mln shares for a value of EUR 7.4 mln or CYP 4.24 mln, well above the total CYP 2.8 mln transacted on the CSE, of which CYP 1.08 mln referred to BOC trades.

An investment report by Deutsche Bank recommending a price target of CYP 2.70, in addition to speculation that BOC will be included in International Sophocleous market were instrumental in helping the stock hit fresh highs.

The BOC rally also spilled over on the shares of Laiki Bank, which raced 1.9% higher to a new record of CYP 1.60 on CYP 708k volume, while Hellenic Bank followed suit, closing at 55 cent on CYP 292k volume.