Markets: FTSE 100 stages late recovery on Tuesday

17:15 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) was mired in the red throughout much of the session, only lifting towards the close amid the deafening silence from Greece.

London's leading share index finished 1.94 points lower at 5890.26, with Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) closing more than 4% higher while Xstrata (XTA) lost out after shareholder concerns, ending the day almost 5% down.

Over on AIM, media company Totally (TLY) was the day's last winner, climbing 172%, while Solo Oil (SOLO) slipped 23%.

Interactive Investor users were busy buying Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), while Aminex (AEX) was widely bought and sold alongside partner Solo Oil on the back of poor news about their Ntorya-1 well in Tanzania. Tuesday's news hit investors who had pushed the price up aggressively in anticipation of better results.

"Markets dropped sharply around midday following news that pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had missed consensus earnings expectations in its latest update," commented market analyst Chris Beauchamp at IG Index.

He put the late recovery down to comments from the US Federal Reserve chairman. "Even though he has merely reiterated most of last week's comments, the cautiously positive tone of his remarks have helped to assuage jittery markets today. However, these warm words might not help too much if Greece doesn't make any progress in the next few days. Thursday is the next deadline, but few expect it to be kept."

At a glance...

Commodities

Gold: $1,735.69

WTI crude oil: $98.94

Currencies

GBP/USD: 1.5887

GBP/EUR: 1.1997

EUR/USD: 1.3244

All changes from 09:00 GMT.

16:50 - US markets recovered lost ground as midday in New York approached.

The lack of resolution achieved so far, alongside the pause in talks between the leaders of the Greek coalition until Tuesday evening, dampened risk appetite.

However the failure to find agreement in Europe over an additional bail-out package for the country failed to dampen sprits as Coca-Cola (KO) announced better-than-expected results, and Coinstar (CSTR) rallied strongly on the Nasdaq after announcing a joint venture with Verizon Communications (VZ) to sell video services.

The Dow Jones added 33 points to 12878. The Nasdaq pushed seven points higher to 2909, while the S&P 500 also rose slightly with a two-point lift to 1346.

16:36 - Revenue rose 5% to £2,845 million at TUI Travel (TT.) during the final quarter of 2011, although underlying operating losses expanded to £109 million from £86 million the year before, largely because fewer French travellers ventured to North Africa.

Organic revenue growth was 4%, driven by strong pricing across the group and volume growth in the accommodations & destinations offering.

16:23 - Shares in diamond companies Paragon Diamonds (PRG) and Firestone Diamonds (FDI) refused to sparkle as the companies updated investors.

For a round-up, read: AIM diamond miners refuse to sparkle.

16:10 - Shares in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) declined after it delivered preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 2011.

The company announced that underlying sales in 2011 had added 4% after a previously reported -3%, alongside total dividends of 75p.

Group sales growth was driven by emerging markets, up 15%, with Japan's 28% gain leading growth across the Asia Pacific region. Europe disappointed with a decline in sales of 4%.

The pharmaceuticals company is expected to bring 30 more drugs into late-stage development over the next three years.

15:57 - GW Pharmaceuticals (GWP) has announced a regulatory update for Sativex, its THC-based spray, having received approval for the drug in Austria as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Peel Hunt stated in a research note on Wednesday: "GW's excellent progress continues to go unrecognised by the market. [The company] trades on three times enterprise value to sales, which is supported by a strong de-risked drug pipeline."

For more on the drug company, watch the iBall TV episode featuring GW Pharmaceuticals.

15:44 - Providing a further update on its acquisition of Silverlining Ventures and Alberg Mining, Berkeley Mineral Resources (BMR) announced that the transfer of mining licence and assignments of land from the two companies has so far proceeded satisfactorily.

The transfer of the licence was initially impeded by a moratorium on transfers initiated by the Zambian authorities which has now been lifted, with authorisation for the licence expected to be received before the end of February 2012. Shares in the company were broadly flat on the news.

15:31 - Horizonte Minerals (HZM) has completed the purchase of the Vila Oito and Floresta nickel laterite projects from Canadian-listed Lara Exploration.

The projects are adjacent to Horizonte's 100%-owned Araguaia nickel project. The total consideration for the acquisition comprised 8.5 million new ordinary shares, equating to CAN$2 million (c£1.3 million) based on the 20-day average price to 10 January 2011.

Lara has undertaken to Horizonte not to dispose of the shares for a minimum of 12 months following their date of admission to trading on AIM, Horizonte confirmed.

15:18 - Shares in specialist international insurer Amlin (AML) rose higher as it confirmed that "unprecedented catastrophe loss activity in 2011 has prompted a notable uplift in reinsurance rates".

Amlin has written total income to date of £746.4 million, net of brokerage, a 19.2% increase on the prior year, with overall renewal rates increasing by 4%. With regards to the Thai floods, Amlin estimated that the property and catastrophe reinsurance account claims will be between £50 and £70 million, net of reinsurance recoveries. The corresponding figure for the Costa Concordia is less than £10 million.

"The 4% rate increase in January seems disappointing given the impact of 2011 losses on Amlin's result, and the low single-digit price increases achieved at renewal by Hannover Re and Munich Re," said Ben Cohen, analyst at Collins Stewart.

Cohen rated the stock a 'hold'. While he believed that the share was trading at an "undemanding" multiple of 1.2 times 2012 tangible net asset value, he forecast that the company will cut its final dividend by 25%.

15:05 - Miners continued to drag the FTSE 100 (UKX) down as investors eyed a potential Greek deal with caution.

London's leading share index was trading down 35 points to 5857, led by Xstrata (XTA), which slipped almost 5%.

At a glance...

Commodities

Gold: $1,724.41

WTI crude oil: $96.37

Currencies

GBP/USD: 1.5816

GBP/EUR: 1.2009

EUR/USD: 1.3184

All changes from 09:00 GMT.

14:50 - US markets were lower as trading got off to a start in New York amid increasing concern over the provision of a £108 million rescue agreement for Greece.

The lack of resolution to the Greek debt crisis continued to dampen the mood as talks between the leaders of the coalition government were postponed until late Tuesday evening in Athens.

The Dow Jones gave up 45 points to 12799. The Nasdaq followed suit, losing nine points to 2893, while the S&P 500 also fell with a five-point decline to 1339.

14:36 - UBM (UBM) has acquired the annual 4G World telecoms and wireless trade show from Yankee Group Research.

According to UBM, 4G World is the largest independent telecoms and wireless event serving the US market. It is held annually in the autumn, with last year's show attracting 8,500 registered attendees and 250 sponsors.

"4G World brings a valuable brand to our portfolio, and will immediately be able to tap into our thriving Light Reading and InformationWeek online communities serving global communications providers, enterprise technology executives, developers and the 4G marketers tasked with reaching them," said chief executive Tony Uphoff.

14:14 - Housebuilding group Bellway (BWY) saw its shares slip on Tuesday as it issued a positive update for investors.

Completed sales reached 2,455 during the six months from 1 August 2011 to 31 January 2012 - up 5% on a year ago. Bellway said the growth has been driven forward by completions of private sales.

Read: Bellway slips despite positive update, for the full story.

13:52 - Sales volumes at Victrex (VCT) have made a "strong" comeback, chairman Anita Frew informed investors on Tuesday.

Group sales volume for January came in at 288 tonnes, bringing the four-month total to 870 tonnes.

Frew noted that she was mindful of the continuing economic uncertainty, but added that the current order book for February and new business development activity was "encouraging".

13:28 - Announcing its conditional acquisition of Navita Systems and proposed purchase of Systeca, shares in Brady (BRY), the commodity software solutions provider, edged downward after giving up earlier gains.

The acquisition of Navita is dependent upon a share placing to raise £18 million, and the placing rests upon resolutions to be passed at a general meeting of the company on 7 March 2012.

Systeca will be purchased for a consideration of approximately £1.2 million, and extend Brady Energy's product offering by adding up-to-date physical electricity trading capabilities and connectivity to most major European Transmission System Operators.

13:04 - Oil and gas news came thick and fast on Tuesday with Solo Oil (SOLO), Mediterranean Oil and Gas (MOG), Leni Gas and Oil (LGO) and New World Oil and Gas (NEW) all updating investors.

For a round-up of the stories, read: AIM oil and gas firms update investors.

12:41 - Electra Private Equity (ELTA) was optimistic that "the next 12 to 18 months will provide attractive new investment opportunities" as it published its interim management statement for the three months to 31 December.

Basic net asset value per share as at 31 December came in at 2,377p. The company holds net liquid resources of £189 million, comprising of £21 million cash, £328 million of liquidity funds and £160 million of bank borrowings.

Additionally, outstanding commitments to third party funds of £89 million are "expected to be funded substantially from realisation proceeds received from third-party funds".

12:15 - Greek worries once again acted as the main drag on the FTSE 100 (UKX), with London's leading benchmark down 34 points to 5858.

"We continue to await news from Athens, and investors are switching to defensive stocks as news of a Greek deal continues to elude us," commented Rupert Osborne, futures dealer at IG Index. "Greek workers are on strike yet again, highlighting the fact that even if politicians do hammer out an agreement, the implementation of more cuts will prove difficult to say the least."

Additionally, official confirmation of the terms of Glencore's (GLEN) bid for Xstrata (XTA) did nothing to lift the mining sector. Instead, investors raced towards the safety of defensives such as Shire Pharmaceuticals (SHP), which climbed up 5%.

"The after-effect of Friday's non-farms data continues to be felt, but we will need something extra to push markets much higher," noted Osborne, but warned that with the economic calendar fairly light, such an event seems unlikely to be forthcoming.

Looking ahead, he was calling the Dow to start the day six points lower.

At a glance...

Commodities

Gold: $1,713.75

WTI crude oil: $96.28

Currencies

GBP/USD: 1.5803

GBP/EUR: 1.2057

EUR/USD: 1.3107

All changes from 09:00 GMT.

11:47 - As Glencore International (GLEN) and Xstrata (XTA) revealed the terms of their merger of equals, the spotlight was stolen by the rebellion of major shareholders, who are unhappy with the terms.

For the full story, read: Shareholder revolt greets Glencore Xstrata marriage plans.

11:19 - Waste management business Shanks Group (SKS) confirmed that trading to 31 January had continued "in line with expectations, despite trading conditions remaining challenging".

The company pointed out that the "softening macroeconomic environment" and "the fall in paper recyclate prices" had impacted the solid waste business in all territories. Additionally, pricing pressure in the Netherlands has continued, with overall volumes softening.

However, the company has continued to focus on cost and efficiency savings, which we expected to be £10 million for the full year.

10:54 - The British Retail Consortium reported that total retail sales values rose 2.1% year-on-year in January, half the 4.2% year-on-year growth rate achieved in January 2011 and the second-worst January performance (after 2010) since the survey started in 1995.

Sales values on a like-for-like basis, fell 0.3% year-on-year in January. Non-food sales weakened in January with "any gains largely driven by widespread heavy discounting in clearance sales". Sales of clothing, footwear and homewares were all reported to be worse than in December, while big-ticket items remained the weakest part of retailing.

Food sales also slowed sharply in January as consumers "searched out grocery offers and value lines".

"The worry remains that consumers will actually reduce their spending in the first quarter, which would severely limit overall growth prospects," commented Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight. He calculates that consumer spending accounts for around 63% of GDP.

Read: Understanding consumer spending data, for more.

10:30 - Talktalk Telecom (TALK), the UK provider of fixed-line broadband and telephone services, shot up over 10% after releasing an interim management statement for the third quarter.

The gains over the quarter have lead to the group raising earnings guidance for the financial year 2011/12.

10:06 - Oil giant BP (BP.) announced a 14% rise in its quarterly dividend as it published its 2011 final results.

Fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost profit came in at $5 billion (£3.16 billion), beating Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSB) $4.8 billion - the first time in a year.

Read: BP unveils dividend rise as profit overtakes Shell, for the full story.

09:42 - Releasing a production report for January Exillon Energy (EXI), a Russia-focused oil producer, saw shares edge slightly higher on Tuesday.

The average daily production for the group was at 10,972 barrels per day, with a peak of 11,836 during the month.

The news came after Exillon extended its lending facilities with Credit Suisse on 3 February.

09:21 - Beazley Group (BEZ), the specialist insurance business, posted its results for the year ending 31 December 2011 on Tuesday.

Shares were down after the group posted a 75% decline in pre-tax profit year-on-year.

"Beazley delivered an underwriting profit in 2011 - a strong performance in the worst year on record for insured natural catastrophes," said Andrew Horton, chief executive officer at the group.

09:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) was unsteady in initial trading on Tuesday in the absence of any news from Greece and echoing stutters on Wall Street and in Asia overnight.

After resisting terms of a proposed new bail-out deal which demands strict labour reforms and other austerity steps, Greek political leaders face crunch talks on Tuesday to clinch an agreement needed to avoid a messy debt default.

London's blue-chip index was five points lower at 5887, with Cairn Energy (CNE) topping the winners list again, while Burberry (BRBY) slipped.

US markets

US stocks retreated from multi-year highs on Monday as Greece continued to struggle on an agreement on spending cuts.

Losing ground after finishing Friday at its highest level since May 2008, the Dow Jones shed 17 points to close at 12845, with 19 of its 30 components heading south.

The S&P 500 dropped half a point to end at 1344, in its first down day in four.

The Nasdaq declined three points to 2901 in its first down day in five and coming off a December 2000 high reached on Friday.

At a glance...

Asian markets

Nikkei 225: 8917 ( 11)

Hang Seng: 20699 ( 10)

Shanghai Composite: 2291 ( 39)

Commodities

Gold: $1,725.06

WTI crude oil: $97.07

Currencies

GBP/USD: 1.5820

GBP/EUR: 1.2038

EUR/USD: 1.3144

08:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) opens at 5892.20.