Markets look slightly healthier as progress is made in Europe

There was progress today, a rare sight in the Eurozone, as (more) meetings and votes were confirmed on this latest part of the Greek-solution-journey.

After Schauble urged his parliamentary peers to say yes to the Greek bailout extension, an official vote in Germany has been time-tabled for Friday. Whilst this further increases the interminable waiting times involved in this search for a Greek solution, it is another tentatively positive step in the right direction. More news should come out about the likelihood of any success in regards to the proposed reforms this afternoon, with a Eurogroup conference call taking place at 1pm GMT to discuss the issue.

Actual details of the Greek reforms leaked out this morning, and signs point to a conciliatory and wide-reaching set of measures that, in theory, should appease Greece’s Eurozone naysayers. These include a pledge not to reverse state asset privatisations, alongside a commitment to not hurting the budget in Syriza’s quest to improve the ‘humanitarian crisis’ in Greece, a promise to consult over its plans to raise the minimum wage and a proposed examination of every aspect of public spending, on top of the already leaked plans to tackle tax evasion and criminal activity in the country. These gradual spurts of information generally pleased investors, with the Eurozone indices continuing to strive for new record highs whilst nevertheless remaining sort of flat as the day went on.

The FTSE managed to reach the most minor of gains this morning, as a reversal of fortunes for oil led the index slightly higher. As Brent Crude slowly rebounded towards $60 per barrel, Premier and Tullow Oil flipped into the green, whilst a similar return to form for copper gave the FTSE’s mining sector some breathing room. The declines seen by Vodafone and Meggitt, which saw a 13% fall in annual profit with its earnings release this morning, prevented the FTSE from extending to greater gains, but with a fairly positive situation simmering in the Eurozone, and commodities pointing in the right direction, there is still hope for the UK index to flourish later in the day.

Finally, US futures have followed the same flat pattern as the rest of the global markets this morning, following a mixed Monday evening for the US indices. The Dow Jones slipped once again from its record highs, whilst in contrast the NASDAQ reached its 9th day of consecutive gains. However, this quiet Monday will fade into irrelevance once Janet Yellen begins her testimony at 3pm this afternoon; there are factions in the US that are almost rabid for an interest rate hike, despite a string of poor data causing a dovish tone in the Fed’s last minutes release. Nearly every new figure in the US at the moment is then used as a tool in the discussion surrounding interest rates, so the markets will be waiting with bated breath to see which way Fed chair Yellen will lean.