London close: Stocks gain despite Greek political turmoil

The FTSE 100 Index closed 23.58 points ahead at 6633.51 in London after Greek lawmakers failed to elect a new president in a final round of voting.

It means Athens is facing an election in early February that could scupper the international bailout from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Analysts said the outcome could boost left-wing party Syriza, which wants to renegotiate the terms of Greece’s debt and cancel the bailout – which it blames for the country’s austerity drive.

Connor Campbell at spread-betting firm Spreadex said: “Whilst this would likely push the Eurozone further into the arms of Draghi’s intended quantitative easing, the short-term shock of such potential volatility meant the Eurozone indices spent the day trading at a loss.”

David Madden at spread-betting group IG said: “As grim as the outlook in Greece is, I feel the problem isn’t as contagious as the debt crisis a number of years ago.”

Mining companies single-handedly propped up the London market in a day that would usually have seen it dragged down by the Eurozone. Fresnillo and Anglo American led the sector higher with rises of 19.5p to 749.5p and 35p to 1217p respectively.

On Sunday, Xinhua News reported on new regulations from China´s central bank which in effect would relax the rules for the calculation of banks´ deposits while at the same time waiving some reserve requirements.

US indices continued on an upward trend in early trading on Monday after finishing Friday in record territory.

As a backdrop, investors were monitoring the situation in Libya, where on Friday government forces launched air strikes against rebel artillery units which had fired on the Es Sider oil export terminal earlier in the week. At last count the North African country´s oil production was running at about 352,000 barrels a day, versus about 850,000 barrels a day reached in October.

BG Group loads first cargo from Queensland Curtis facility

Exploration outfit BG Group was 8.5p higher at 889.7p after it announced that on 28 December it began loading the first cargo for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Queensland Curtis LNG facility onto the Methane Rita Andrea vessel. The second cargo of LNG was scheduled to be loaded onto a carrier which was due to arrive in the first week of January.

The owners of collapsed parcel courier City Link said they "very much regret" that staff were told of the company's entry into administration on Christmas Day. Better Capital, run by Jon Moulton, said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange that the appointment of administrator Ernst & Young was leaked ahead of the planned announcement.

Shares in Smith & Nephew rose 20p to 1193p on the heels of reports last week that US group Stryker Corp was planning a takeover bid for the British medical-device maker.

Pub group JD Wetherspoon fell 14p to 812.5p after announcing plans to open 200 pubs in the next five years, which it said should create 1,500 new jobs in the UK and Ireland.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,968.65 +0.05%
FTSE 100 6,633.51 +0.36%
FTSE 250 16,050.71 -0.34%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Mail (RMG) 442.50p +4.59%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,407.00p +2.78%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,214.50p +2.75%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,966.00p +2.72%
Fresnillo (FRES) 749.50p +2.67%
Carnival (CCL) 2,930.00p +2.48%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,244.00p +2.19%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,193.00p +1.71%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 467.20p +1.59%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,540.00p +1.57%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 405.50p -2.69%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,157.00p -2.28%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,642.00p -2.15%
Indivior (INDV) 142.00p -2.07%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 442.90p -1.29%
Hammerson (HMSO) 609.00p -1.14%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,851.00p -0.94%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,236.00p -0.80%
TUI AG Reg Shs (Post- 16/12/14)(DI) (TUIJ) 1,060.00p -0.75%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 471.70p -0.72%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 58.85p +4.44%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 363.20p +3.83%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 175.00p +2.94%
Game Digital (GMD) 359.80p +2.80%
Lonmin (LMI) 173.20p +2.67%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 589.00p +2.61%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 113.90p +2.61%
Synergy Health (SYR) 2,082.00p +2.51%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 318.60p +2.34%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,017.00p +2.02%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 45.98p -6.16%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 190.00p -4.52%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 430.00p -4.44%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 355.90p -4.28%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,069.00p -3.43%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 577.00p -3.27%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 448.00p -3.20%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,089.00p -3.11%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,469.00p -3.04%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 586.00p -2.98%