London midday: Stocks surge on Greek deal hopes, but uncertainties remain

Decent gains in the banking and travel sectors gave UK stocks a boost on Wednesday as sentiment was buoyed by hopes of a possible bailout deal in Greece.

According to reports, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will accept all his creditors’ bailout conditions that were on the table last weekend, with only a handful of minor changes.

The FTSE 100, which on Tuesday settled at its lowest since 12 January, was up 1.44% at 6,614.56 by midday.

The Financial Times said it had obtained a two-page letter sent by Tsipras to the heads of the Troika, elaborating on Tuesday’s surprise request for an extension of Greece's now-expired bailout and for a new, third €29.1bn rescue. The bailout's expiry at midnight Tuesday night means the extension is no longer on the table, but Tsipras' letter could serve as the basis of a new bailout in the coming days, said the FT.

However, economist Holger Schmieding from Berenberg warned that “Europe – exasperated by the current Greek government - may now demand that the Greek people settle the issue in a referendum, and that Tsipras campaigns for a ‘yes’ to the conditions against which he first called the referendum”.

Schmieding also said that any potential deal at this stage may require political change in Athens, given that the Syriza party’s left wing won’t sign off on it. “Greece would probably need a new formal (or informal) coalition of moderate Syriza members with the pro-European parties before Europe could strike a deal,” he said.

In economic data on Wednesday, the Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) unexpectedly fell from a revised 51.9 in May to a 26-month low of 51.4 in June.

Overnight, the official China manufacturing PMI was unchanged at 50.2 in June, missing the 50.4 estimate, while the non-manufacturing PMI rose to 53.8 from 53.2.

Banks and travel stocks rise

Banking giants RBS, Standard Chartered, Lloyds and Barclays were all making gains in London, having fallen sharply - along with the wider market - over recent sessions.

Similarly, travel and leisure stocks were also rebounding after a recent sell-off, including Easyjet, IAG, TUI and IHG. The sector had been hit by the potential impact on tourism from the Greek debt crisis and recent terrorist attacks.

Airlines were also performing well after an Airports Commission report declared that a third runway should be built at Heathrow. The Commission said the runway was “crucial for the UK’s long-term prosperity”.

Profits in the first half of the year at outsourcer Serco were flat compared to the previous year but "a little better" than predicted, causing shares to surge 10%. However, management have not altered their expectations for the full year.

Pub group Greene King edged higher as it reported record retail revenue of £1bn in its full-year results, although profits leaked lower as a result of a decline in like-for-like sales and the impact of the disposal of 275 pubs to Hawthorn Leisure.

Tullow Oil gained after taking action to "re-set" the business for the new oil price environment. The company also slightly increased its guidance for full-year production after enjoying strong West Africa oil production in the first half.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,127.89 +1.45%
FTSE 100 6,614.56 +1.44%
FTSE 250 17,713.32 +1.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 364.20p +3.61%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,601.00p +3.56%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,063.00p +3.20%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,070.00p +3.18%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,035.00p +3.04%
CRH (CRH) 1,840.00p +3.02%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 632.00p +2.85%
Prudential (PRU) 1,575.00p +2.77%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,634.00p +2.65%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,128.00p +2.64%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 683.50p -0.87%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,258.00p -0.63%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,380.00p -0.50%
SSE (SSE) 1,535.00p -0.07%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 570.00p -0.02%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Serco Group (SRP) 129.70p +9.92%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,161.00p +4.31%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,884.00p +4.20%
Betfair Group (BET) 2,506.00p +4.16%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 135.10p +4.08%
Just Eat (JE.) 423.00p +3.98%
DCC (DCC) 5,175.00p +3.50%
Redrow (RDW) 457.60p +3.32%
Card Factory (CARD) 333.00p +3.10%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 249.00p +2.94%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 575.00p -2.95%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 295.60p -2.09%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 970.00p -2.02%
Lonmin (LMI) 109.90p -1.79%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 397.20p -1.63%
IP Group (IPO) 203.30p -1.55%
Evraz (EVR) 121.40p -1.46%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,200.00p -1.40%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,030.00p -1.34%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 147.10p -1.21%