Markets rally on hopes of a Greek deal

Traders woke in a buoyant mood this morning on hopes that the Greek debt deal will go through tonight. The FTSE 100 rose 1% to 5855.18, while the FTSE 250 was 1.4% higher at 11442.72. Athens has until 8pm tonight to persuade its private-sector creditors to take accept a massive hit on their holdings. The agreement is required to trigger a fresh €130bn (£108bn) bailout for the troubled economy. As my colleague Graeme Wearden notes: "The latest estimate this morning is that 60% of Greek bond holders have agreed to swap their debts." That means we're close to the crucial 66% level for voluntary participation, at which point the Greek government can force other bondholders to take part. Graeme will be covering the news as it happens, in our live blog here . Greece will officially announce the result at 6am tomorrow morning. European indexes were also higher, with the French CAC 40 up 1.7% at 3450.29, and Germany's DAX 1.8% higher at 6789.22.