London close: FTSE 100 closes at new record high on Greece, Yellen

London’s FTSE 100 set a new all-time high on Tuesday afternoon, surpassing the previous record reached amid the dotcom bubble at the end of 1999, as the Eurogroup approved a bailout extension request from Greece.

Markets were also watching comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen who suggested that removing the word “patient” from the central bank’s forward guidance does not necessarily imply a rate hike is imminent.

The Footsie settled up 0.5% on the day at 6,949.63, exceeding the record finish of 6,930.20 reached on 30 December 1999.

The UK benchmark index also rose as high as 6,958.89 before the market close, setting a new intraday record. The previous intraday high was 6,950.60.

“Ongoing central bank accommodation in the US should be supportive of global asset prices including European stocks,” said analyst Jasper Lawler from CMC Markets.

However, analyst Connor Campbell from Spreadex said: “Many argue that it’s got further to go with the European Central Bank recently entering the ring with their own quantitative easing programme, but the higher markets go, the harder they fall.”

Greece and Yellen in focus

Eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday afternoon approved Greece's list of proposed economic reforms necessary for a four-month extension to the country's bailout, though the Troika acknowledged that more needed to be done.

International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde said the proposal contained no "clear commitments" by Greece and suggested she wanted reforms to be widened before the list could be signed off in April.

Across the Pond, Yellen testified to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and said the Fed was still taking a cautious approach to the timing of the first rate hike with “room for improvement” still visible in the labour market. However, if conditions improve further the Fed will look at tightening policy “on a meeting-by-meeting basis”.

“It is important to emphasise that a modification of the forward guidance should not be read as indicating that the [Fed] will necessarily increase the target rate in a couple of meetings,” she said.

BHP Billiton jumps after profit beat

Mining giant BHP Billiton jumped after beating forecasts with a less-than-expected decline in earnings in the first half. Underlying operating profits fell 12.3% year-on-year to $14.49bn, compared with consensus forecasts of $13.62bn. The group also pledged to keep its dividend policy unchanged despite the proposed de-merger of its non-core operations.

Other miners were also performing well, such as Anglo American, Fresnillo and Antofagasta.

Engineering group Meggitt declined as it reported a 13% fall in underlying pre-tax profit in 2014 following a “challenging year”.

Sector peer GKN also underwhelmed despite beating forecasts with a 4% increase in pre-tax profit in 2014. Numis downgraded the stock from ‘add’ to ‘hold’ after a strong run in the shares over recent months.

Persimmon also failed to impress despite meeting expectations with a 44% increase in underlying pre-tax profits in 2014 and accelerating its proposed cash return plan. The stock however was reversing after having jumped 18% since mid-January.

Paper and packaging group Mondi rose after revealing that profit before tax rose 24% to €619m in 2014 while its full-year dividend was lifted 17%.

Pension provider Just Retirement surged after saying it delivered “resilient profits” despite changes made to the annuity market in the government Budget last year. Annuity sales were down just 4% on the pre-Budget comparison period, it said.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,150.69 -0.23%
FTSE 100 6,949.63 +0.54%
FTSE 250 17,201.91 +0.20%

FTSE 100 - Risers
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,643.50p +6.24%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,237.00p +3.26%
Fresnillo (FRES) 827.00p +3.05%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 754.50p +3.00%
SSE (SSE) 1,580.00p +2.93%
Glencore (GLEN) 295.40p +2.89%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,108.00p +2.59%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,310.00p +2.58%
Royal Mail (RMG) 433.90p +2.50%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 950.60p +2.42%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Meggitt (MGGT) 537.00p -5.95%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,650.00p -3.51%
GKN (GKN) 373.60p -3.21%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 226.50p -2.66%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 141.50p -2.62%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,998.00p -1.67%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,009.00p -1.60%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 689.50p -1.57%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 936.50p -1.42%
St James's Place (STJ) 892.00p -1.27%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 166.30p +15.81%
Afren (AFR) 10.50p +10.70%
Genus (GNS) 1,388.00p +7.68%
Drax Group (DRX) 429.90p +6.67%
Premier Oil (PMO) 175.80p +4.33%
Hunting (HTG) 484.50p +3.86%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 975.00p +3.72%
Serco Group (SRP) 218.80p +3.55%
Alent (ALNT) 363.60p +3.21%
Workspace Group (WKP) 822.00p +3.14%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,797.00p -8.32%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,955.00p -7.65%
Just Eat (JE.) 367.20p -3.37%
AO World (AO.) 281.00p -3.34%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 170.00p -3.30%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,030.00p -2.83%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,453.00p -2.81%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,135.00p -2.74%
UBM (UBM) 537.00p -2.63%
Interserve (IRV) 572.50p -2.55%