Footsie on the up with financials in demand and Whitbread soaring 6.9%

LONDON REPORT: FTSE: 5,775.31 (+81.92) Mid-250: 11,654.92 (+117.08) Small Cap: 3,249.14 (+20.62)

BRITAIN’S LEADING shares pushed higher yesterday, led by rallying commodity stocks and banks as investors awaited a vote of confidence in the Greek parliament.

The vote is seen as a key step towards the passage of more spending cuts in exchange for foreign emergency loans.

“What equity markets need is a bit of good news or even some relief from the sheer dreariness of the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis and Greece’s financial odyssey,” said Mike Lenhoff, market strategist at Brewin Dolphin.

“A vote of confidence for Mr Papandreou and his government might be the catalyst that helps equity markets to regain their footing,” he added.

At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 1.4 per cent.

Energy issues were the top blue chip sector gainers as crude prices rose, with BG ahead 2.7 per cent.

Banks lent their strength to the blue chip index as well, with Barclays up 2.5 per cent, while global heavyweight HSBC added 0.9 per cent.

BP added 3.7 per cent after Weatherford, which provided equipment used in the Macondo oil well, agreed to pay $75 million toward the cost of the Gulf of Mexico spill.

Miners also rebounded as metal prices ticked up, with Chilean copper miner Antofagasta ahead 5.1 per cent.

Whitbread was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 6.9 per cent after Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator said its London operations had performed strongly in recent weeks.

Cruises operator Carnival got a boost from better-than-expected second-quarter results, adding 6 per cent.

Wolseley rose 4.3 per cent as ING upgraded its rating for the building supplies firm.

On the downside, brewer SABMiller was the top blue chip faller, down 3.6 per cent after rival Australian firm Foster’s rejected its A$9.5 billion ($10.1 billion) cash takeover offer.

Defensively perceived water blue chips were also weak with United Utilities down 0.8 per cent.

“The rotation into defensives in Europe may have been a feature of last week . . . We favour the non-cyclicals until sovereign risk abates, the manufacturing data turns and Chinese inflation peaks,” said strategist at RBS in a note. – (Reuters)