London midday: FTSE bounces despite China sell-off and Greek uncertainty

UK stocks advanced on Wednesday in spite of a sell-off in China overnight and ongoing uncertainties surrounding Greece, as markets bounced back after falling to their lowest in nearly six months.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 6,477.14 by midday, after settling at 6,432.21 on Tuesday, its lowest since 16 January.

Eurozone leaders have warned Greece that a new bailout deal should be struck within the next five days or the country would face a banking collapse as well as a potential exit from the Eurozone. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that although he was “strongly” against Grexit, there was a “Grexit scenario prepared in detail”.

IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said: “guarded optimism is the theme today, as the Eurozone gives Greece one final deadline”.

Investors were also keeping a close eye on the UK budget as Chancellor George Osborne promises to unveil plans for a “lower tax, lower welfare society”. He is expected to unveil £12bn in welfare cuts and changes to taxation in an “emergency” budget to parliament at 12:30 BST.

Measures to improve housebuilding could see construction stocks move, while investors in listed banks will be watching out for any potential movement on the controversial bank levy imposed in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The Budget could also boost retail stocks with a pre-announced move to allow shops in England and Wales to be open for longer on Sundays by handing the responsibility to local towns and cities.

Meanwhile, Chinese stocks suffered another bout of panic selling on Wednesday with the Hang Seng down 7.5% and the Shanghai Composite dropping 5.9% despite measures by the government to stabilise markets.

A fresh wave of China-listed companies announced trading halts before the open, taking the total to around 1,300 or 45% of the country’s listed stocks.

Barclays jumps on CEO exit

Barclays was a high riser after chief executive Antony Jenkins was given the boot, with the bank saying that “a change in leadership is required” and the search for his successor was underway. Chairman John McFarlane will become executive chairman pending the appointment of a new CEO.

Sector peers Standard Chartered and HSBC, however, were trading firmly lower on their exposure to the Chinese economy following the sell-off in Shanghai overnight.

RBS was edging higher, helped by Charles Stanley raising its rating from ‘reduce’ to ‘hold’, saying the stock is now “fairly valued” despite remaining misconduct uncertainties.

After an earlier fall, mining stocks pushed higher with Glencore and Anglo American among the best performers on the FTSE 100.

Wholesaler Booker inched lower after sales were underwhelming in the first quarter, with just 0.2% revenue growth for the first 12 weeks of the financial year, compared to 1% in the preceding quarter.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,080.15 +0.45%
FTSE 100 6,477.14 +0.70%
FTSE 250 17,229.95 +0.10%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Glencore (GLEN) 238.90p +3.60%
Barclays (BARC) 258.15p +2.38%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,789.00p +2.05%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,993.00p +2.00%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,795.50p +1.93%
Anglo American (AAL) 848.20p +1.91%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,534.00p +1.86%
SSE (SSE) 1,569.00p +1.82%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 496.00p +1.64%
Old Mutual (OML) 202.20p +1.61%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Standard Chartered (STAN) 981.50p -1.72%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 528.00p -1.31%
Prudential (PRU) 1,496.00p -1.09%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 624.00p -1.03%
Pearson (PSON) 1,200.00p -0.99%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,042.00p -0.95%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,954.00p -0.71%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 554.70p -0.70%
Kingfisher (KGF) 343.40p -0.55%
Next (NXT) 7,430.00p -0.54%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,070.00p +4.84%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 541.00p +4.44%
Genus (GNS) 1,455.00p +3.78%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 178.20p +3.54%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 800.50p +2.89%
Premier Oil (PMO) 136.70p +2.70%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 165.90p +2.41%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 978.50p +2.30%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 59.40p +2.06%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 632.00p +1.94%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 123.90p -9.10%
UBM (UBM) 496.40p -4.17%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 228.50p -3.87%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 583.00p -3.24%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 214.80p -2.76%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 290.00p -2.72%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,261.00p -2.17%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 414.20p -2.15%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 537.50p -2.09%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,688.00p -1.97%