Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has decided to go ahead with his decision to conduct the referendum to decide on his country's future with European Union, brushing aside the market turmoil caused by his announcement Monday as "short lived."

The Greek cabinet had unanimously agreed to the referendum and it would take place at the earliest, reports The Telegraph, quoting a government spokesman. All European Union leaders have expressed surprise at the move by the Greek government and are holding emergency meetings, ahead of G20 summit in Cannes.

Meanwhile, FTSE 100 opened higher Wednesday after sluggish sessions in the previous two sessions, relying on the hopes of positive actions from the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) which would help the economic recovery, reports Reuters.

Miners could lead the rally in London after copper prices pushed 2.2 percent higher in Asian trade, rebounding after two days of losses, says the report. The FTSE 100 index closed a 2.2 percent lower Tuesday as the eurozone debt crisis made the world markets jitter.

In the morning trade, Inmarsat Plc, the satellite communication firm and Next, the fashion retailer, were leading the gains. Inmarsat has recorded a 17.9 per cent rise in the sales in the third quarter compared to the same period in the last year. Next reported a 3.3 per cent increase in the group sales in the third quarter as against the same period in 2010.

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