London open: FTSE edges higher on latest Greek reports, ahead of US retail sales

UK stocks were little changed in early trade, but were seen moving marginally higher after initial losses.

The FTSE 100 had inched five points higher to 6,835.39 by 09:00.

With little out in the way of European data, investors will likely be paying close attention to the situation with Greece following reports that Germany is considering a kind of pay-per-reform deal.

If agreed, the move would his would enable the troubled country gain access to a portion of the funds this month on the condition it implements an initial round of reforms.

"Even if these reports aren't entirely accurate, it may suggest that the institutions are considering a slightly different approach to this that will allow Greece to avoid defaulting at the end of this month and continue negotiations," Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said.

"This is by no means the sustainable long term deal that we’d like to see but it would prevent a default for now and that’s the most important thing."

Later on in the session, the Commerce Department will release US retail sales for May will be unveiled, with expectations of a 1.3% rise compared to the previous month, which came in flat.

The anticipated increase is expected to be due to improved fuel and automobile sales.

Danske Bank analyst Kristoffer Kjær Lomholt said: "We expect a strong report underscoring that private consumption is rebounding after a subdued first quarter. Headline retail sales will be boosted by particularly strong auto sales and also to some degree higher gasoline prices.

"However, retail sales excluding gasoline and autos and the retail control group (that tracks private consumption in the national account) are also expected to show solid gains.”

Back in the UK and in company news, George Osborne has announced the government will begin the process of returning Royal Bank of Scotland to private ownership in the “coming months,” even though it may cause a loss for taxpayers. Disposing of RBS in its entirety “will take some years,” Osborne added, insisting there was “no reason” why a retail offering can’t be held at a later date. Share rose strongly early on.

Heading the other way was Royal Mail. The government has said it will sell half of its remaining stake in the group, leaving it with about 15% of the company on its books. Reports indicate the shares are likely to be priced at approximately 500p a piece.

Meanwhile, UKFI has cut its stake in Lloyds further, to 17.9%, after selling 779,900 shares, according to a regulatory filing.

Greene King has announced that its takeover offer for Spirit Pub is no longer conditional on approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority, as the company has waived the CMA approval condition to which the offer was subject.

Oil and gas industry services provider Petrofac said it has landed a four and a half year contract with Petroleum Development Oman to provide services for its Yibal Khuff project. The total contract value is expected to be around $900m, with around one-quarter of the revenues relating to professional services.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,213.88 +0.02%
FTSE 100 6,824.28 -0.09%
FTSE 250 18,076.22 +0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers
CRH (CRH) 1,872.00p +1.63%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,213.00p +1.24%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 358.60p +1.07%
Tesco (TSCO) 213.55p +0.99%
Sage Group (SGE) 554.00p +0.91%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 613.50p +0.90%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,123.00p +0.90%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,401.00p +0.88%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,543.00p +0.85%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,681.00p +0.84%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Royal Mail (RMG) 499.00p -3.39%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 236.90p -2.95%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,071.00p -2.10%
Fresnillo (FRES) 724.50p -1.76%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,206.00p -1.26%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,893.00p -1.10%
Carnival (CCL) 3,136.00p -1.04%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 960.50p -0.98%
Glencore (GLEN) 277.55p -0.98%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,136.00p -0.79%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 562.50p +2.93%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 609.50p +2.18%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,977.00p +2.06%
Redrow (RDW) 444.10p +1.79%
BTG (BTG) 693.00p +1.76%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 188.30p +1.73%
Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 115.20p +1.68%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 389.00p +1.67%
Soco International (SIA) 183.30p +1.66%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,143.00p +1.60%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Lonmin (LMI) 134.10p -2.76%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 163.60p -2.62%
Booker Group (BOK) 180.00p -1.80%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 389.20p -1.72%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 479.10p -1.66%
Diploma (DPLM) 775.00p -1.27%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 304.40p -1.23%
Genesis Emerging Markets Fund Ltd Ptg NPV (GSS) 527.00p -1.22%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 573.00p -1.04%
NMC Health (NMC) 777.00p -1.02%