Greek debt deal report lifts FTSE

be reached and also helped by strong trade data from China bolstering heavyweight miners.
Company data also lifted the index although BG Group slid 3,3 percent on weak results.
Weaker oil prices highlighted a shaky global demand outlook and technical indicators hinted that further strength would be hard to achieve.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 46,48 points at 5 989,37 points after falling 0,6 percent, on Monday.
Dow Jones reported a senior Greek government official saying he expected a new aid package of nearly 60 billion euros (US$86 billion) to be sealed next month.
A Greek official told Reuters the country was not talking about a new aid package.
While the Dow Jones report lifted the FTSE and helped banking stocks, market participants were sceptical about the sustainability of the gains.
“It removes an uncertainty but it is a short-term resolution to problems and investors will soon start to look again at the serious problems facing the British economy,” said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital.
Rundle said the debt situation in Portugal and elsewhere in the euro zone would also continue to dent investor sentiment.
China posted its largest trade surplus in four months in April, swinging from a trade deficit in the first quarter, as exports hit a record on stronger global demand.
This supported metal prices and miners provided the biggest support to the index. Technical factors remained bearish for the FTSE 100 index.
“The failure to regain the psychological 6 000 level could be a sign that investors see the market as overvalued at current levels,” said Enis Mehmet, analyst at Auto-chartist.
“This price is likely to become a pivot price over the next few days as bulls and bears battle over who has the control at this time.”
House prices in England and Wales fell in April at their slowest pace since July 2010, although worries about the economy and tight lending were likely to subdue the market for some time, a survey found.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ seasonally adjusted April house price balance rose to -21 from -23 in March, better than the -23 consensus forecast.
Meanwhile, while British retail sales jumped at their fastest annual pace in five years in April, helped by the Easter holidays, sunny weather and the royal wedding, the outlook remained gloomy, a survey found.
“The British high street got a temporary boost from the wedding, and today the sun is shining but commodities have the makings of a bubble and the economy has got problems to face,” Rundle said.
Encouraging data from companies also helped instill confidence in equities.
Imperial Tobacco rose 2,9 percent after the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker beats forecasts with first-quarter earnings growth and announced a £500 million share buyback.
British outsourcing group Capita was the top riser, up 2,9 percent after reporting solid trading in the first four months and said it expected a strong second half.
InterContinental Hotels added 2,6 percent after it lifted first-quarter profit by more than a third, welcoming back the US business traveller and pointing to stronger bookings and higher room rates for the rest of the year. – Reuters.