Tuesday, 14 July 2015 17:15
LONDON: Britain’s top share index edged slightly lower on Tuesday as doubts nagged over whether the Greek parliament would approve a bailout deal. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces a showdown with rebels in his own party furious at his capitulation to German demands for one of the most sweeping austerity packages ever demanded of a euro zone government.
“Grexit” – a Greek exit from the euro zone – could prove costly to the overall European economy. “Assuming that Tsipras has the right tools to force the package through the Greek parliament, the other hurdles should be overcome in due course, after a little regional chest thumping,” Deutsche Bank said in a note.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.1 percent at 6,731.25 points. It rose 1 percent on Monday as markets welcomed the initial Greek deal, with banks – highly geared to market declines – leading the relief rally.
The index is down more than 5 percent from a record high of 7,122.74 points hit in April and still 2.5 percent up this year.
Rating changes from Deutsche Bank sent shares in broadcasters in opposite directions. Sky climbed 2.1 percent, making it the biggest FTSE 100 gainer on an upgrade to buy from hold, while shares in ITV dropped 1.4 percent after it was cut to sell. Among other standouts, Astrazeneca rose 0.4 percent after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its drug, Iressa, as a first-line treatment for a common form of lung cancer.
The drug was previously approved for use only in patients who did not respond to chemotherapy.
Sector peer Glaxosmithkline also edged higher after saying it had forged a collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute, making it the first pharmaceutical company to link up with the new biomedical centre based in London.
Among mid-caps, Carillion rose 2.1 percent after the company, which maintains railways, roads and military bases, said it had seen a significant rise in first-half revenue. On the downside, Johnston Press, publisher of “The Scotsman” and “The Yorkshire Post”, fell 16 percent after a profit warning. Britain’s newspaper industry has been hammered in recent years as readers and advertisers move online.
