London--European stock markets rose Wednesday with London jumping close to a record peak on hopes of an end to Greece's debt stand-off, dealers said.
Equities were jolted higher on news that crisis-hit Athens will ask for an extension to its bailout and avoid a painful eurozone exit.
In reaction, the British capital's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies soared to 6,921.32 points in morning deals, which was less than 30 points below its record intra-day high set in 1999.
In mid-afternoon trading the FTSE stood at 6,877.60 points, down 0.30 percent from Tuesday's closing level.
Elsewhere, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.34 percent to 10,932.38 points, and the CAC 40 index in Paris rallied 0.86 percent to 4,795.71.
Athens' main shares index was up 0.43 percent to 842.22 points, having earlier surged by more than 3.0 percent.
In foreign exchange activity, the euro fell to $1.1381 from $1.1413 late in New York.
Greece will ask to extend its European loan agreement without agreeing to the loathed duties of a full-blown bailout, its Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said.
Greek public television reported that Athens will send a letter Wednesday to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, requesting a six-month extension.
Europe and Greece are racing to reach a deal to prevent Greece from crashing out of the eurozone, after talks in Brussels ended in acrimony on Monday.
The European portion of the 240 billion euro ($270 billion) bailout expires at the end of February and Greece's creditors insist it needs extra financing to stave off the risk of a default and a eurozone exit.
"Investors have seen the eurozone pluck victory from the jaws of defeat often enough in the past to be utterly relaxed about this situation," said foreign exchange analysts Moneycorp.
- 'Too much at stake' -
"There is a feeling that a lifeline will be cast out," said IG analyst David Madden.
"Athens is angling for emergency funding for its banking system, and should the ECB deny it, it would effectively be turning its back on the debt-laden country.
"Europe doesn't want to let Greece go as it has too much at stake ... but at the same time it wants to save face, and this is why markets believe a rescue package will be reached in the end."
Meanwhile US stocks opened lower Wednesday following mixed US housing data and a lacklustre reading on inflation.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.27 percent to 17,999.20.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.27 percent to 2,094.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.15 percent to 4,891.82.
The Federal Reserve was to release minutes from its January meeting later Wednesday that are expected to be scrutinised for clues on when the central bank will raise interest rates.
Back in London, the British pound soared to a seven-year pinnacle against the European single currency on the back of upbeat jobless data.
Britain's unemployment rate has descended to a new six-year low of 5.7 percent while growth in wages outpaced inflation, official data showed Wednesday.
In reaction, the euro sank to 73.63 pence -- the lowest level since January 2, 2008. It stood at 73.74 at 1400 GMT, down from 74.34 pence on Friday. The pound meanwhile rose to $1.5433 from $1.5352.
AFP
