FTSE LIVE: Hope rises for Greek debt deal after marathon talks; Rolls and Diageo results
8.50: The FTSE 100 has opened 11.2 points higher at 5,887.1, with investors mostly sticking to the sidelines until the the Greek bailout horsetrading is finally concluded.
Germany's DAX is ahead 33.1 points at 6,781.8 while France's CAC 40 is up 19.7 points at 3,429.
'Close, but not quite there yet. The Greek political leaders failed to reach a complete agreement although officials said they would meet again this morning and hinted a deal would be reached,' said Gary Jenkins of Swordfish Research.
Eurozone crisis: Greece's party leaders, led by prime minister Lucas Papademos, head into more talks about accepting harsh austerity measures in exchange for a bailout
'Pension cuts appear to be the sticking point although there are reports that the remaining amount that needs to be cut is around the €300million mark, which therefore might be the Greek politicians thinking that the EU will cover what is an insignificant amount considering the size of the overall bailout package.
'There will be a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels this evening, no doubt called to try and pressure Greece into actually making a decision and thus I presume by tomorrow morning we may even have an agreement in place.'
Preview: The FTSE 100 index is expected to notch up modest gains as Greece edges nearer to getting its debt crisis under control.
Greece's leaders are continuing marathon talks to resolve one remaining issue and
wrap up a deal on a bailout package, which is crucial to avoiding a messy default.
Greek officials said pension cuts were the sticking point.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said he hoped the party leaders could
sort out their differences before a meeting of eurozone finance
ministers late this afternoon.
The Footsie closed down 14.33 points at 5,875.93 yesterday.
The Bank of England's monthly rate decision is due at noon, with the central bank expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at the record-low of 0.5 per cent.
It is expected to announce 50billion in additional quantitative easing asset purchases, though the decision of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee may not be unanimous given recent more upbeat economic news.
The European Central Bank will also announce its latest interest rate decision at 12.45pm, with no change expected either.
December industrial output figures are due to be released this morning.
Stocks to watch today include:
Rio Tinto: The global miner reported a 6 per cent drop in underlying second-half profits and took a $9.3billion charge mainly against its aluminium business, but appeased investors with a huge dividend hike, underscoring its long-term confidence.
Lloyds Banking Group: The sale of hundreds of Lloyds branches to the Co-Op hangs in the balance amid Financial Services Authority concerns it could lead to chaos for customers, according to City sources, the Daily Mail said.
Centrica: Shares in the gas distributor rose on Wednesday on speculation that Malaysia state-owned oil firm Petronas was looking to sell its near-4 percent stake in the British group, newspaper market reports said.
Kenmare Resources: Shares in the Irish titanium miner saw mega turnover on Wednesday amid rumours of a 110 pence-a-share cash bid from Rio Tinto, the Daily Mail's Market Report said.
BG Group: Fourth-quarter results.
Vodafone: Trading update.
Shire, Rolls-Royce: Full-year results.
Hargreaves Lansdown, Diageo: First-half results.
British Land: Third-quarter results.
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