London close
London’s blue-chips finished the day clinging on to gains as the negotiations over the Greek bail-out hit another snag.
US stocks opened softer after Greece rejected new proposals handed out by it pay-masters, as the two sides race to find common agreement on Greece's debt before a repayment deadline at the end of the month.
UK stocks often follow the US, and there was a weaker trend in the afternoon, but nevertheless the FTSE 100 finished 10 points in profit at 6,845, with supermarkets and oil majors to the fore in the lunchtime session.
Sainsbury's gained 6.3p at 275.5p as broker Societe Generale upped its rating on the supermarket group, prompting buying in sector peers Tesco (LON:TSCO) and Morrisons (LON:MRW).
Broker comment also pumped up integrated oil major Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB), which climbed 1.5% to 1,916p as Deutsche Bank moved from a neutral position to a bullish one.
BG Group (LON:BG.), the subject of an agreed bid from Shell, rose 1.9% to 1,109.5p in sympathy.
Among the mid-caps, speciality chemicals group Elementis (LON:ELM) took a bath, shedding 54p at 257.6p, after it said “temporary market dynamics” experienced in the second quarter will most likely have a negative influence on the full-year result.
Among small caps, Ascent Resources (LON:AST) lived up to its name, surging 35% to 0.21p on news it had had won an environmental permit to install a gas gathering and separation station at its Petišovci field in Slovenia.
Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy (LON:88E) hardened 0.13p to 0.86p after saying it had agreed a US$50mln funding deal with Boeing.
Also on the up was Russia-focused Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA), which ticked up 0.15p to 1.1p as Moscow provisionally approved its application for a licence at its West Kytlim platinum project.
Software firm Brady (LON:BRY) cracked the pound barrier, with the shares rising from 98.5p to 103p on the back of a significant contract win.
Among the laggards, Mosman Oil & Gas (LON:MSMN) dropped 0.36p to 2.75p as the New Zealand and Australia-focused oil explorer raised £400,000 through a share placing and subscription.
Premier African Minerals (LON:PREM) retreated 12.7% to 2.40p as finance house Darwin Strategic took possession of 35mln new Premier shares as a result of exercising some warrants at 1.25p a throw.
Amur Minerals (LON:AMC) tumbled 7p to 24.25p as the base metals projects developer received approval of its Kun-Manie nickel copper sulphide project plan.
“We are ready to move on to the next phase of site evaluation by infill drilling and initiation of the metallurgical test work that will guide us in selecting the specific process design for Kun-Manie. This next phase of project de-risking and assessment will provide an increase in the reserve base necessary to undertake the production decision," said Robin Young, chief executive of Amur.
US open
US stocks opened lower as investors took fright as the two sides in the Greek bail-out negotiations failed to reach agreement.
Greece's pay-masters have rejected Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's proposals, and presented him with new terms that the Greek government subsequently rejected.
“Greece’s PM Tsipras has shown more of a willingness to give in on some of the 'red lines' like taxes, so the institutions are pushing for all they can get in the last days before the June 30 payment deadline,” suggested Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at spread betting firm CMC Markets.
The S&P 500 was off three points at 2,121 after almost an hour of trading while the Dow Jones average was down 63 at 18.081; the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell seven points to 5,154, helped by Apple edging high on the back of a report that said the company's iPhones are retaining their value in the second hand market.
House builder Lennar is defying the trend, advancing after earnings per share of 79 cents beat second quarter forecasts of 64 cents.
Sector peers PulteGroup and D R Horton rose in sympathy.
Also going well was Ford Motor after being upgraded to 'buy' from 'neutral' by Goldman Sachs.
The so-called vampire squid was less sold on Ford's rival General Motors, which retreated after Goldman Sachs turned neutral on the stock, having previously been a buyer.
Ahead of results expected after the bell, retailer Bed Bath & Beyond is marginally lower.
Aircraft maker Boeing runs into a bit of turbulence after announcing that Dennis Mullenburg will replace Jim McNerney as chief executive, with McNerney continuing to act as chairman.
London lunchtime
London’s blue-chips and mid-caps have gone their separate ways today, with the former buoyed by hopes of an imminent deal between Greece and its creditors.
Greece’s pay-masters have handed it revised terms for a proposed bailout, much to the consternation of Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has already lost face by making numerous concessions.
Nevertheless, the FTSE 100 was up 25 at 7,860, with supermarkets and oil majors to the fore in the lunchtime session.
Sainsbury's gained 6.7p at 275.9p as broker Societe Generale upped its rating on the supermarket group. Investors in rival grocers took heart, boosting Tesco (LON:TSCO) by 2.5p to 218.75p while Morrisons (LON:MRW) enjoyed a rare spell at the top of the Footsie totem pole, rising 2.8% to 185p.
Broker comment also pumped up integrated oil major Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB), which climbed 2% to 1,925p as Deutsche Bank moved from a neutral position to a bullish one.
BG Group (LON:BG.), the subject of an agreed bid from Shell, rose 1.8% to 1,108p in sympathy.
The FTSE 250 is off 60 points at 17,937, despite a 1.1% gain for transport group Stagecoach (LON:SGC), which said this morning that more competition and falling oil prices had hit its UK and North American buses and coaches.
Speciality chemicals group Elementis (LON:ELM) has taken a bath, shedding 49p at 263p, after it said “temporary market dynamics” experienced in the second quarter will most likely have a negative influence on the full-year result.
Among small caps, Ascent Resources (LON:AST) lived up to its name, surging 42% to 0.22p on news it had had won an environmental permit to install a gas gathering and separation station at its Petišovci field in Slovenia.
Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy (LON:88E) spurted 0.14p to 0.87p after saying it had agreed a US$50mln funding deal with Boeing="" href="-##!##-/<a href=" NYSE:BA="" of="" p="" rel="5455">
Boeing="" href="-##!##-/<a href=" NYSE:BA="" of="" p="" rel="5455">Also on the up was Russia-focused Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA), which ticked up 0.125p to 1.08p as Moscow provisionally approved its application for a licence at its West Kytlim platinum project.
Among the laggards, Mosman Oil & Gas (LON:MSMN) dropped 0.375p to 2.75p as the New Zealand and Australia-focused oil explorer raised £400,000 through a share placing and subscription.
Premier African Minerals (LON:PREM) retreated 11.8% to 2.43p as finance house Darwin Strategic took possession of 35mln new Premier shares as a result of exercising some warrants at 1.25p a throw.
Meanwhile, across the pond, US markets are set to open lower with US investors taking a less sanguine view of last minute wrangling over bailout terms for Greece.
London open
London’s blue-chip shares started the session modestly higher as traders remained optimistic about prospects for a deal between Greece and its creditors.
The FTSE 100 Index stood 11 points ahead at 6846 at about 11.30 ahead of a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers to discuss the latest set of proposals put forward by Greece.
A deal between Greece and the Eurozone countries to ease Athens's debt burden is now widely expected to be announced on Thursday.
Senior market analyst at City firm OANDA, Craig Erlam, said: "It’s been a while since people have actually been hopeful on a Greek deal and it’s providing a good boost to the markets."
However, reports suggested Greek premier Alexis Tsipras may face a rebellion from some of his party's lawmakers over concessions he is likely to make to Brussels.
Sainsbury's gained 7.2p to 276.4p as broker Societe Generale upped its rating on the supermarket group. Investors in rival grocers took heart, boosting Tesco (LON:TSCO) by 2.2p to 218.4p and Morrisons (LON:MRW) by 5.4p to 185.2p.
Stagecoach (LON:SGC) shares advanced 0.8p to 409.9p even after the transport group said more competition and falling oil prices had hit its UK and North American buses and coaches.
Commodity trader and producer Glencore (LON:GLEN) was 2p up at 276.9p as it announced the sale of its entire remaining interest in the Tampakan project in the Philippines.
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) leaked 4.9p to 367.7p after broker Cantor Fitzgerald kept its 'sell' advice on the stock and cut its target price to 328p from 342p.
Shares in Supergroup (LON:SGP) lost early gains to fall 3p to 1,224p on news that the fashion retailer had appointed Nick Wharton as its permanent finance chief. Wharton had held the position temporarily since February.
Mosman Oil & Gas (LON:MSMN) dropped 0.5p or 16% to 2.62p as the New Zealand and Australia-focused oil explorer raised £400,000 through a share placing and subscription.
Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy (LON:88E) spurted 0.15p to 0.88p after saying it had agreed a US$50mln funding deal with Boeing="" href="-##!##-/<a href=" NYSE:BA="" of="" p="" rel="6092">
Boeing="" href="-##!##-/<a href=" NYSE:BA="" of="" p="" rel="6092">News that Ascent Resources (LON:AST) had won an environmental permit to install a gas gathering and separation station at its Petišovci field in Slovenia inflated its shares by 0.06p to 0.21p.
Shares in Russia-focused Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA) ticked up 0.12p to 1.08p as Moscow provisionally approved its application for a licence at its West Kytlim platinum project.
London pre-open
London’s blue chips are set to consolidate some of the recent gains generated by the improved sentiment over Greece.
Financial spread bet firms expects FTSE 100 to add just a couple of points when dealings get underway, after the index yesterday hit an eleven-day high of 6,834.
A deal between the Greece and the Eurozone countries to ease its debt burden is now widely forecast to be announced tomorrow.
US shares were also mixed. All three of the main indices made gains though the possibility of two US interest rate rises capped some of the gains late in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 24 to 18,144, with more modest rises for Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
Comments from Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell that the stock market isn’t in a bubble an could accommodate two rate hikes this year unsettled the mood.
Netflix was one the best performers again on a planned seven-for-one stock split.
Asian markets were mixed with Tokyo hitting anew eighteen year high overnight and modest losses in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Company results due include finals from bus and train group Stagecoach and a trading update from defence electronics group Ultra.