London midday: Stocks recover as Greek hopes outweigh Fed uncertainty

19th Feb 2015 11:39

UK stocks had erased earlier losses by Thursday lunchtime as hopes about Greece outweighed uncertainty arising from the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting.The FTSE 100 was up just 0.02% at 6,899.24 by midday, having bounced off an intraday low of 6,858.67 reached early on.The index is now more or less in line with the new 15-year closing high reached on Tuesday and is within touching distance of its all-time closing high of 6,930.20 reached in December 1999.Greece on Thursday submitted a request for a six-month loan extension, but on different terms from the existing bailout. The Greek proposal reportedly asked for flexibility on the "current arrangement" and more help for the country's banks, calling for the European Central Bank to re-introduce the collateral waiver that was suspended earlier this month.Eurozone finance ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the request.Analyst Connor Campbell from Spreadex said markets across Europe were "enlivened by the semblance of progress that has appeared this morning".US markets finished mostly lower on Wednesday night after minutes from the January Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that "many" members said a premature rate increase could be detrimental for the recovery, while "several" believed a later move could lead to high inflation.Many officials were worried that once the term "patient" is scrapped, markets will assume the Fed is set to move on "an unduly narrow range of dates", which could lead to "undesirably tight" financial conditions".Minutes from the European Central Bank's own policy meeting will be released on Thursday for the first time in history. The minutes will provide detail about the ECB's decision on 22 January to introduce a €1trn quantitative easing package.Centrica disappoints with dividend cutWith oil and gas prices plummeting, Centrica took dramatic action by slashing its dividend and future payout policy, warning that earnings for next year will be lower than expected too. Shares in the British Gas owner dropped sharply the company cut its dividend 21% to 19.2p, which will be a "major blow" to shareholders, according to analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.Oil and gas stocks such as Tullow, BG Group, Shell and BP were also lower as crude prices declined.??BAE Systems erased earlier losses after predicting marginal growth in underlying earnings in 2015, as it eased worries about defence spending in the UK and painted a positive outlook for the US market.High street sportswear retailer Sports Direct impressed after saying it is confident of increasing profits this year despite a significant slowdown in sales growth in its third quarter.SABMiller edged higher despite the resignation of its chief financial officer Jamie Wilson for personal reasons. He will exit the board immediately and will officially leave the group on 31 March 2015.Drinks packaging group Rexam rose after agreeing a £5.4bn takeover by US rival Ball Corporation, a much larger higher valuation than had been expected by the market.Glaxosmithkline and insurer Catlin were both trading lower after going ex-dividend.