FTSE up as Greece agrees austerity measures

The top share index in the UK climbed higher on Monday as investors breathed a sigh of relief as the threat of a disruptive Greek default ebbed into the distance. By the close of the first session of the week, the FTSE 100 was up by 0.9 per cent, adding over 53 points to reach 5905.

Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Monday, February 13, 2012

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Standard Chartered

Banks were one of the main boosts to the bluechips as Greek ministers finally gave the thumbs up to the proposals which will allow the next round of aid to be released and thereby avoiding a default on the debt that is due for repayment in March. However, the index did not rally as much as analysts hoped as investors remained conscious that the latest agreement merely buys the cash-strapped country time and does not eradicate the threat of default in the future.

Lloyds Banking Group was the highest in the sector, moving up by 2.33 per cent. Standard Chartered, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were all also in the blue with increases of 1.61, 1.24 and 0.68 per cent respectively.

But the miners were the star performers of the day with the sector rising by 1.89 per cent compared to 1.72 per cent for the bankers. The news about Greece lifted risk appetite and this combined with the ongoing proposed merger between Xstrata and Glencore sent the industry to the top of the leaderboard. Anglo American added 2.57 per cent whilst Eurasian Natural Resources was only slightly lower with 2.56 per cent. Rio Tinto was also in the top 10 of the day with an increase of 1.98 per cent.

 

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