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London midday: Financials provide a boost after 11th-hour deal in Cyprus

Mon, 25th Mar 2013 11:35

Financial stocks were performing well on Monday morning, pushing the FTSE 100 one per cent higher, following Cyprus' 11th-hour deal with the Troika to save itself from financial collapse."Cyprus has avoided becoming the first country to default on its debt and exit the Eurozone, after agreeing on a bailout with the Troika over night," said Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari."It has been a birth of fire for Nicos Anastasiades and his government, who had to choose between a bailout from the Troika, which would include a levy on bank deposits, and the country defaulting on its debt. It was never going to be an easy decision for Anastasiades, with both options likely to leave the country deep in recession for the foreseeable future. The only benefit of the latter is the fact that the country's financial system has a chance of avoiding collapse."Also supporting stocks this morning was speculation surrounding a parliamentary testimony tomorrow by the Bank of Japan's new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on hopes that he will use this opportunity to outline new easing measures. Kuroda vowed last week to use "all means available" to end combat deflection and kick-start growth. Cyprus reaches deal to save small depositorsFollowing a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers that lasted almost 12 hours, Cyprus agreed to a €10bn aid package that doesn't include a controversial across-the-board bank-account tax but involves forcing big losses on uninsured depositors. The deal includes deep restructuring measures for the two largest Cypriot banks. The Popular Bank of Cyprus, also known as Laiki Bank, will be liquidated and Bank of Cyprus will be restructured. Most of the policy focuses on reducing the country's outsized banking sector. Laiki will be split into a 'good' bank and a 'bad' bank. The good bank will then be folded into Bank of Cyprus, which will be restructured. All deposits under €100,000 will be safe, including those at Laiki Bank. However, there will be a high levy on deposits above that amount at both banks, as much as 40% or 50%, according to Bloomberg. However, the levy has not yet been specified. "The agreement reached today on Cyprus provides a comprehensive and credible plan to deal with the current economic challenges in the country," said International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde."The plan focuses on dealing with the two problem banks and fully protecting insured deposits in all banks. It addresses upfront the core problem of the banking system through a clear strategy that ensures debt sustainability and does not excessively burden the Cypriot taxpayer. This agreement provides the basis for restoring trust in the banking system, which is key to supporting growth."Abderdeen leads financials higherFinancial stocks were making gains this morning on improved sentiment following the last-minute deal in Cyprus. Asset management firm Aberdeen was leading the way higher after posting a 10% increase in assets under management to £212.3bn in the second quarter.Sector peer Schroders was higher after reaching an agreement on a recommended 135p-a-share offer for Cazenove Capital that values the investment business at £424m. Banking stocks RBS, Lloyds and Barclays were also up this morning with RBS benefitting from an upgrade from 'sell' to 'neutral' by Goldman Sachs.ARM Holdings was also benefitting from broker comments after Bank of America said that the potential of its 'big.LITTLE' energy-saving technology was "underappreciated".Drinks giant SABMiller rose on plans to target further beer volume growth and share gains in its Latin American division of the next three to five years. Biopharmaceutical business AstraZeneca was also wanted after settling a US patent infringement litigation.Wood Group, the energy services firm, edged higher after being awarded a $45m extension on a maintenance contract from Caltex in Australia.FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 915.50p +4.15%Vodafone Group (VOD) 189.70p +3.41%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 422.40p +3.28%Barclays (BARC) 300.05p +2.76%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,123.00p +2.37%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,973.00p +2.33%Schroders (SDR) 2,138.00p +2.15%easyJet (EZJ) 1,053.00p +2.13%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 887.00p +2.07%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 299.10p +1.98%FTSE 100 - FallersKingfisher (KGF) 281.90p -1.95%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 281.30p -1.40%United Utilities Group (UU.) 699.50p -1.34%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,077.00p -1.28%Evraz (EVR) 223.80p -0.75%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,671.00p -0.71%British Land Co (BLND) 551.50p -0.45%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 395.90p -0.43%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,615.00p -0.35%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,289.00p -0.09%FTSE 250 - RisersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 118.20p +5.82%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 149.80p +4.54%Ashtead Group (AHT) 598.00p +4.36%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 244.10p +3.87%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 177.20p +3.81%International Personal Finance (IPF) 462.70p +3.74%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 217.00p +3.73%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 266.90p +3.45%RPS Group (RPS) 275.60p +3.41%CSR (CSR) 498.60p +3.38%FTSE 250 - FallersHomeserve (HSV) 207.10p -2.03%NMC Health (NMC) 334.00p -2.02%Rank Group (RNK) 172.50p -1.99%Workspace Group (WKP) 337.40p -1.98%COLT Group SA (COLT) 129.40p -1.67%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 221.20p -1.65%United Drug (UDG) 263.50p -1.53%Drax Group (DRX) 617.50p -1.52%IP Group (IPO) 144.10p -1.30%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 565.50p -1.14%BC

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