easyJet Share News (EZJ)

LONDON (Alliance News) - London's main stock indices ended higher Thursday amid a mixed performance for global stock indices, as investors focused on developments in Berlin where Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis adopted a conciliatory tone after his first meeting with the German government.

Following talks with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, known for his hardline stance on eurozone fiscal issues, Varoufakis called for "bridging" finance until a new agreement between Athens and its lenders could be negotiated. He said he was not seeking to have any of Greece's sovereign debt wiped out.

"We didn't reach agreement. It was never on the cards that we would agree. We did not agree to disagree: We agreed to enter into negotiations," he said. Schaeuble had earlier said the diplomatic phrase for the encounter should be "agree to disagree."

The meeting came after the European Central Bank said late Wednesday it would refuse to accept Greek government bonds as security for loans. The ECB had previously given the Greek government a waiver on the use of its bonds as security, but said in a statement that it would lift that exemption as of February 11.

That news hit Greek stocks, particularly bank shares, on Thursday.

CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler said the ECB's decision came as a surprise but should not have a lasting effect. "The ECB’s decision wasn't expected so the shock value sent global shares lower but as long as Greeks still have access to the Emergency Liquidity Assistance program and the ECB begins printing next month, there should be no immediate cause for concern," Lawler said.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.1% at 6,865.93, the FTSE 250 closed up 0.7% at 16,694.99, and the AIM All-Share ended up 0.6% at 697.95.

European shares closed mixed, with the CAC 40 ending up 0.2%, and the DAX 30 closing down 0.1%. At the end of European equity trade, Wall Street was trading higher. The DJIA was up 1.0%, the S&P 500 up 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.7%.

Oil-related stocks continued to track moves in the oil price, which moved a touch higher again Thursday after a slight drop on Wednesday when US crude oil stocks rose by more than expected. At the close of the London equity markets on Thursday, Brent oil traded at USD57.20 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate was at USD51.44 a barrel.

In the FTSE 100, BG Group closed up 2.5%, Weir Group up 2.3% and Royal Dutch Shell 'B' up 1.2%. In the FTSE 250, Hunting closed up 8.1%, Premier Oil up 4.7%, Ophir Energy up 4.3%, and Petrofac up 3.8%.

Shares in FTSE 250-listed Rexam surged after the British drinks can maker said it has received a GBP4.3 billion takeover approach from US rival Ball Corp and the two are now in talks. The company said Ball's proposal values Rexam at 610 pence a share, well above its current share price, and is based on a consideration of about two-thirds cash and one third new Ball shares. Rexam shares ended up 22% at 546.874 pence.

BT Group was the best performing stock in the FTSE 100, closing up 4.5%, after it agreed a deal to acquire mobile network EE for GBP12.5 billion in cash and shares, a deal that will give EE's joint owners Deutsche Telekom AG and Orange SA stakes in BT. BT will pay the cash amount through a combination of new debt financing and around GBP1 billion from the placing of new BT shares. It said this placing will be launched in due course.

AstraZeneca, down 3.4% was the worst blue-chip performer. The pharmaceutical giant moved to further bolster its respiratory drug pipeline by acquiring the rights to Actavis' branded respiratory business in the US and Canada, but it also reported lower earnings for 2014 due to increased investments it is making in accelerating its existing portfolio. Its earnings missed analysts' forecasts.

Meanwhile, medical devices company Smith & Nephew reported higher revenue and trading profit for 2014, although earnings per share were hit by restructuring and acquisition costs. Its trading profit rose to USD1.06 billion for the year as a whole, from USD987 million in 2013, as revenue rose to USD4.62 billion, from USD4.35 billion. The company closed as one of the biggest FTSE 100 risers, up 2.1%.

EasyJet was the second-worst FTSE 100 performer, down 2.9%, after it reported flat passenger numbers in January and a slight year-on-year decline in its load factor. It said it carried 4 million passengers in January 2015, flat year-on-year, while its load factor, a measure of how full its planes are, fell by 0.3 percentage point to 85.1% from 85.4%.

Premier Farnell was one of the worst performers in the FTSE 250, ending down 6.7%. The technology company said it expects to report an increase in sales for its full financial year on the back of higher sales in the fourth quarter, but said its operating margin has come under pressure due to strategic initiatives and discounting on the first Raspberry Pi model, and it expects its second-half gross margin to decline around 1 percentage point. It expects its full-year operating profit to be around GBP86-88 million.

In the economic calendar Friday, the focus will be on US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate and earnings data at 1330 GMT. There will also be German industrial production at 0700 GMT, and French and UK trade balances for December at 0745 GMT and 0930 GMT respectively.

In the corporate calendar, the only scheduled release is an AGM statement from FTSE 250-listed property company Shaftesbury.

By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1

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