London’s blue chip shares finally got back to winning ways in early trading as traders shrugged off Tuesday's Greek default in the hope of an eventual deal.
The FTSE 100 Index, which has fallen for four days in a row, climbed 37.08 points to 6558.06 in the first hour of trading.
Greece failed to make a €1.6bn repayment to the International Monetary Fund, but eurozone finance ministers will meet to discuss the latest bailout proposals from Athens.
Markets rose as traders speculated about the outcome of this weekend's Greek referendum on whether to accept the creditors' terms for a deal.
Even if the Greek people vote for the aid programme proposed, that may not be the end of the matter as it could see the government resign and a new round of elections.
US markets seemed unconcerned by the IMF non-payment, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 24 to 17,620 and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also seeing modest gains.
The second quarter had seen modest declines in all three US markets due to the concerns over the economy and rate rises. Netflix was the stand-out performer with gains of 58% for the content streaming giant.
Asia markets were better performers. Hong Kong saw the best of the gains adding more than 1%, Tokyo edged up slightly and Shanghai fell again.
On the UK company front, Serco (LON:SRP) bounced 15.1p to 133.1p as the troubled outsourcing group reported slightly better-than-expected first half trading.
After several profit warnings and a rescue rights issue, investors appeared to welcome some stability, with Serco saying its full year expectations remained unchanged.
Pub and brewing group Greene King (LON:GNK) frothed up 8.5p to 853p as it reported a record year despite lower underlying profits.
Road haulier Wincanton (LON:WIN) motored 2p to 184p after announcing a contract with bike and car accessory retailer Halfords to be sole operator of its national transport contract.
Sirius Minerals (LON:SXX) jumped 9.75p to 24.75p as the UK potash miner said the North York Moors National Park Authority had approved its mine and mineral transport system planning application.