Afternoon Markets: FTSE withstands sharp European falls

The FTSE fell 0.3% today, defying falls more than four times as large on most of Europe's major markets.

France's CAC 40 benchmark closed 1.5% lower, while Germany's DAX index dropped 1.22%. Spain's Ibex 35 closed down 3% lower after Standard & Poor's cut Spanish debt from AA+ to AA. Today's surprise was the Athens exchange, which rose 0.6% after financial markets swayed throughout theday as the outlook for Greece's rescue package for changed by the hour. Sentiment towards Greek stocks was buoyed in part by the regulator unexpectedly banning short selling for a month. In London, the FTSE closed up 16.91 points on 5586.61. BG Group rose 3.9% to £11.10 after announcing it would se...