FTSE shrugs off Greece downgrade

The FTSE 100 rose at opening today after a boost from US markets which closed higher on Monday.

London's blue chip index rose 15 points to 5,957.51 just after the opening bell, driven up by defensives including energy giant Centrica and Imperial Tobacco.

Gains came after it closed down 37 points on Monday in reaction to the latest downgrade of Greece's credit rating by S&P.

The credit rating agency slashed the region's credit rating by two notches, from BB to B. A further downward move would make it the most lowly rated country in Europe.

However, UK investors shrugged off the downgrade this morning, looking instead to overnight gains in the US where the S&P 500 closed up 0.5% at 1,346 and the Dow gained 0.4% to 12,684.68. Wall Street benefited from stronger jobs data as well as a rebound in commodity prices.

Miners also gave a lift to the FTSE 100 as they reacted positively to yesterday's commodity price rises.

Fresnillo was up 0.8% at £14.49, while Xstrata rose 0.7% to £14.29.

However, other commodities struggled, with brent crude down more than 1% at $114 a barrel.