Market overview: Shares higher on hopes for deal in Greece
1630Close Stocks rose after Greek PM Tsipras sent a letter overnight to the country's creditors showing he was now coming around to their demands. RBS was at the head of the charge, while miners provided a drag as investors continued to monitor the large drop in Chinese equities. Speaking in the afternoon Tsipras asked his countrymen to vote against the current bailout terms, possibly in another attempt to pull on creditors´ leash. Zoopla led fallers on the second-tier index with traders referencing talk that Swiss-listed Myriad Group was pitching a short position on the company´s shares. FTSE 100 up 87.61 to 6,608.59 points.
FTSE 250
20,508.75
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE 350
4,453.56
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE All-Share
4,411.85
15:45 15/11/24
Media
12,522.60
15:45 15/11/24
ZPG Plc
490.40p
16:59 11/07/18
1541: Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has confirmed in a speech that the referendum on Sunday will take place as scheduled.
1519: A report on Twitter cites a Greek government source as saying the referendum wil go ahead as planned.
1450: The final reading of the Markit US manufacturing PMI was revised up to 53.6 for June, surprising economists who had expected it to remain unchanged from the initial estimate of 53.4. Nevertheless, this was still down from 54.0 in May and the lowest reading since October 2013.
1428: One report indicates China will cut the stamp duty for share trading by approximately 30% as of 1 August.
1344: Ten year Greek bond yields are edging higher by eight basis points to 15.48%.
1319: The Council of Europe says the conditions for Greek referendum fall short of international standards, Associated Press reports.
1315: Consultant ADP´s monthly estimate of private sector payrolls revealed a 237,000 person increase in June, higher than the 211,000 expected by economists.
1255: It may be a bit stale given recent events in markets but in a research note sent to clients on Wednesday morning analysts at Goldman Sachs had this to say: "We continue to see mounting tensions over Greece as a catalyst for EUR/$ to go near parity, if contagion to other peripherals causes the ECB to accelerate QE."
1244: Rumours continue to swirl that Greece will call off its referendum.
1058: The FTSE 100 is up 1.35% a 6,608.85 as hopes for a potential Greek bailout deal drive blue chips higher, including heavyweight banking stocks such as RBS and Standard Chartered which are rising around 3% each. Lloyds and Barclays are also higher, though HSBC remains in the red.
1007: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is reportedly prepared to accept all his bailout creditors' conditions. According to the Financial Times, Tsipras will ask only for a handful of minor changes. The newspaper cited a two-page letter sent late Tuesday night by Tsipras to the heads of the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, elaborating on Tuesday's surprise request for an extension of Greece's now-expired bailout and for a new rescue.
0930: The Markit UK manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell to 51.4 in June from a downwardly-revised 51.9 in May (initial estimate: 52), missing the consensus forecast of 52.5. This represented the slowest growth in 26 months.
0852: Airline stocks such a Easyjet, IAG, Flybe, Dart and Ryanair are all performing well after an Airports Commission report found that a third runway should be built at Heathrow. The Commission said the runway was “crucial for the UK’s long-term prosperity”.
0843: UK stocks have bounced early on but still remain well below levels seen last week as markets react to Greece defaulting on its debt repayment to the IMF last night. The Eurogroup yesterday dismissed Greece’s last-minute proposal for a new two-year bailout and debt restructuring. Dealer Jonathan Sudaria from London Capital Group said: “Now that the inevitable has occurred, it looks as though markets are taking solace in having some mild form of certainty. However, don’t take todays start as a sign of a turn around, more the start of a consolidation period in the run up the referendum,” he said. The FTSE 100 is up 53 points at 6,574 after finishing Tuesday’s session at 6,520.98, its lowest close since 12 January.