Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

London open: Stocks jump on Greek austerity vote

Mon, 13th Feb 2012 08:21

- Stocks rise as Greece approves austerity package.- Vodafone confirms potential takeover of C&W Worldwide.- Miners track metal prices higher.UK stocks rose strongly on Monday morning following the news that the Greek parliament voted to approve the tough austerity measures needed to secure the country's next bailout. Just eight out of the 100 stocks on the Footsie were in the red early on.Amid a barrage of protests and burning buildings, politicians in Athens yesterday passed the austerity measures designed to cut €3.3bn from the deficit and achieve the approval of the issuance of the second financing package. The new €130bn bailout will help Athens meet its financing needs and thus avoid a default. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos had warned lawmakers before the vote that "the social costs that come with these measures are contained in comparison to the economic and social catastrophe that will follow if we don't adopt them." Only 199 of the 300 politicians approved the measures and 43 deputies from the coalition government voted against it. The Eurozone finance ministers are expected to convene on Wednesday to give the green light to the second bailout after the passage of these austerity measures.In domestic news, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has today cuts its forecast for gross domestic product growth (GDP) for this year and next, albeit due to the contraction seen at the end of 2011. The UK economy is now forecast to expand by 0.9% this year and by another 2% the next, compared with previous forecasts of 1.2% and 2.2%. However, the business lobby expects the British economy to avoid the technical definition of a recession, often defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction, thanks to increased business optimism.CWW JUMPS AFTER VODAFONE TAKEOVER SPECULATIONThe big corporate news of the day is that telecoms giant Vodafone is weighing up a potential offer for struggling rival Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW). Vodafone's shares nudged higher early on, while CWW surged by almost 30%.Prior to today's announcement, CWW's shares lost almost three-quarters of their value over the last year after a series of profit warnings. Vodafone said it is still in the very early stages of assessing whether to make a bid and indicated that if it were to do so, the offer would likely be in the form of cash for shares. Meanwhile, miners and financials were providing a lift on the Footsie on the back of the improved outlook for Greece. With the euro strengthening against the dollar, greenback-denominated metals prices were on the rise, buoying the mining sector. Anglo American, Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto were making strong gains in the opening minutes. Anglo American was performing strongly despite revealing that its underlying earnings contribution from Anglo American Platinum fell from $425m to $410m in 2011.On the FTSE 250, Telecom Plus, the utility provider which trades as Utility Warehouse, rose strongly after saying full-year profits are expected to be slightly ahead of market expectations as it enjoyed a recent acceleration in organic growth. Data centre provider Telecity fell despite saying that full-year revenues came in slightly ahead of expectations. Revenue rose 22.1% while adjusted pre-tax profit increased 26.3%.Trading systems developer Fidessa delivered annual revenue growth of 6%, despite nervous financial markets, but believes that conditions will remain difficult for some time to come. Shares fell 2%.AIM-listed mobile banking technology firm Monitise raised its full-year revenue guidance following a strong first half, which saw sales surge three-fold year-on-year as demand accelerates for tis mobile money services.BCFTSE 100 - RisersAnglo American (AAL) 2,830.00p +3.04%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,292.00p +2.54%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,152.00p +2.49%Xstrata (XTA) 1,224.50p +2.21%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 35.16p +1.93%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,097.00p +1.92%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,348.00p +1.89%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,842.50p +1.87%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 695.50p +1.61%Schroders (SDR) 1,620.00p +1.50%FTSE 100 - FallersPolymetal International (POLY) 1,117.00p -0.62%Evraz (EVR) 410.00p -0.49%SSE (SSE) 1,259.00p -0.16%Tesco (TSCO) 320.25p -0.12%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,995.00p -0.10%Serco Group (SRP) 530.50p -0.09%Pearson (PSON) 1,187.00p -0.08%Experian (EXPN) 920.50p -0.05%FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 25.20p +27.59%Telecom Plus (TEP) 664.00p +5.48%Henderson Group (HGG) 129.50p +5.20%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 76.00p +3.68%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 631.50p +3.52%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 346.40p +3.31%TUI Travel (TT.) 207.70p +2.92%Lonmin (LMI) 1,041.00p +2.56%Smith (DS) (SMDS) 174.70p +2.46%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 195.90p +2.40%FTSE 250 - FallersGem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 226.30p -3.04%Redrow (RDW) 126.10p -1.79%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,669.00p -1.65%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 130.00p -1.52%PayPoint (PAY) 563.00p -1.23%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 491.50p -1.23%National Express Group (NEX) 222.10p -1.16%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 43.14p -1.15%KCOM Group (KCOM) 73.25p -1.01%Galliford Try (GFRD) 495.40p -0.84%

Related Shares

More News
31 May 2024 15:40

Botswana's Debswana diamond sales fall 48% in first quarter

GABORONE, May 31 (Reuters) - Debswana Diamond Company's rough diamond sales fell 48.3% in the first quarter of 2024, data released by Botswana's cen...

31 May 2024 09:59

Take Five: Cool jobs at last

May 31 (Reuters) - The start of a new month can mean only one thing for investors: time for the all-important monthly U.S. employment report, but al...

30 May 2024 18:20

Anglo starts formal divestment of coal, nickel after rebuffing BHP, CEO says

LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Anglo American is starting a formal process to sell its coal assets and explore options for its nickel operations after f...

30 May 2024 15:35

South African inflation risks ease but no rate cut yet

South Africa's central bank keeps repo rate unchanged *

30 May 2024 15:15

How a rattled South Africa became Anglo's best defence against BHP bid

BHP deal fell apart as Anglo rallied around structure *

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.