London pre-open: Shares set for Greek bounce

24th Jun 2011 07:47

With Greece and the European Union settled on the contents of the austerity package to be put before the Greek parliament next week, hopes have risen that the prospect of a default by Greece on its loans can be put to bed.As news broke of the agreement late yesterday, the US markets performed an abrupt volte-face, wiping out earlier losses, and the Greek news is likely to bear gifts for shareholders in the UK market too, with City traders predicting the top-share index will open at around 5,744, up 70 points from last night's close.Back on the home front, London and south-east house builder Berkeley Group reported forecast-beating figures on Friday, on both the sales and the profit level, but investors will have to wait a little longer before they they can benefit from the resumption of a dividend.Distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl is trading in line with expectations, despite tough times in its UK and Irish markets. At constant exchange rates group revenue in the six months to the end of April is expected to have increased 6%, due to underlying growth of 3% and the positive impact from acquisitions, with a slight improvement in operating margin. Gold miner African Barrick Gold has had further success with its in-fill drilling at its Tusker resource area at the Nyanzaga project in Tanzania.--jh