Morning Markets: FTSE flirts with 5,800 after Greece boost

The FTSE has continued Friday's sharp rise in early trading - up 20.99 points (0.36%) at 5,791.97 - buoyed by the eurozone’s agreement to offer a £30bn loan package to Greece.

Retailers were among the early gainers, with Argos owner Home Retail Group climbing 3.7% to 292.40p. Sainsbury's was up 2.1% to 347.20p and Marks and Spencer added 1% to 375.20.

Financials were also among the risers, with RBS up 1.4% to 45.46p and Prudential 1.39% higher to 581.50p. Mining shares fell, with Antofagasta down 0.85% to £10.48 and Xstrata 0.6% lower at £12.88.

US shares gained ground on Friday as details of the Greece loan first began circling.
The main Dow Jones Index briefly breached 11,000 points for the first time in 18 months, before closing up 70.28 points (0.6%) at 10,997.35.

Oil giant Chevron led the way, gaining 2.4% after an upbeat forecast, while drinks group Coca-Cola also rose. Aluminium producer Alcoa slipped 3.2%.

The Greece deal also had a positive effect on Asia's markets. In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 36.2 points (0.73%) to hit a 19-month high of 4984.3 points on Monday, while Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose by 47.56 points (0.42%) to 11251.9 points.

However, China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.51% to 3151.88 points on Monday after the top bank regulator said China's bank must do more to rein in risky lending to land developers.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 34.79 points (0.16%) to 22243.29 points at noon but closed after dropping 70.33 points (0.32%) to 22138.17 points, with the worst affected being the property sector with a drop of 1.02%.