Market overview: Greek official says agreement in the pipeline
1630:Close Stocks snapped higher on the back of remarks from a Greek official indicating the country was working on a "staff-level" agreement to relieve its financial crisis. CRH led gainers after clinching a deal to snap up assets from Lafarge and Holcim. Imperial Tobacco advanced after the US regulator approved the merger between Lorillard and Reynolds. IAG gained altitude on the back of a positive research note out of Credit Suisse.
Construction & Materials
9,822.47
16:59 26/04/24
CRH (CDI)
6,302.00p
16:49 26/04/24
FTSE 100
8,139.83
17:09 26/04/24
FTSE 350
4,470.09
16:59 26/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,423.59
17:14 26/04/24
Imperial Brands
1,811.50p
16:35 26/04/24
Industrial Engineering
13,588.68
16:59 26/04/24
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI)
176.30p
16:40 26/04/24
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology
22,773.26
16:59 26/04/24
Shire Plc
4,690.00p
16:39 08/01/19
Tobacco
26,506.71
16:59 26/04/24
Travel & Leisure
7,572.38
16:59 26/04/24
Weir Group
2,010.00p
16:40 26/04/24
1528: According to a Greek official Greece and its international creditors begun to draft a staff level agreement. The yield on Greece’s benchmark 10-year bond was 35 basis points lower to 11.54%. The news also set off a sudden move higher in the Footsie, which was rising 75.95 points to stand at 7,024.65 points. Spain’s Ibex 35 also snapped higher on the news, gaining 1.4% to 11,400.8.
1143: The Bank of England is looking to implement the Warsh recommendation to reduce the number of meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee each year to eight.
1030: Speculative positions in oil are excessive and appear to have peaked, Credit Suisse writes today in a research note. That usually leads to a fall in the oil price and where it to rise from here it would threaten Saudi Arabia's market share strategy - especially with shale capex being switched back on at $65 per barrel. On a tactical basis US dollar strength also points out to a weaker price for crude. The Swiss broker thinks oil prices will weaken in the near-term before recovering to $71 per barrel in quarter four of 2015. However, analyst Andrew Garthwaite adds that since 1860 bear markets in oil have lasted between 11 to 28 years, not seven. FTSE 100 up 39.34 points to 6,988.09.
1001: Reports indicate the European Central Bank has maintained its ceiling on the Emergency Liquidity Assistance facility for Greece at €80.2bn given the slowdown seen in bank deposit flight from the country.
0851: Shares have begun the morning moving moderately higher despite overnight losses on Wall Street. Imperial Tobacco is doing best in the early going on the back of news that US competition authorities have given the go-ahead to a merger between Reynolds American and Lorillard. Deutsche Bank has reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation on Shire stock. Weir is at the bottom of the pile despite an upwardly revised target price out from analysts at Deutsche Bank. FTSE 100 up 32.66 points to 6,981.73.