London open: Markets retreat on Greek uncertainty
Stocks opened in the red on Thursday as investors took profits following a surge the day before, with renewed uncertainty in Greece hitting sentiment.
ARM Holdings
1,700.00p
17:09 02/09/16
Food Producers & Processors
8,283.01
17:09 14/05/24
Frasers Group
825.50p
16:43 14/05/24
FTSE 100
8,428.13
17:00 14/05/24
FTSE 250
20,618.52
17:09 14/05/24
FTSE 350
4,631.25
17:09 14/05/24
FTSE All-Share
4,583.23
17:14 14/05/24
General Retailers
4,071.65
17:09 14/05/24
Health Care Equipment & Services
12,331.57
17:09 14/05/24
PayPoint
544.00p
16:40 14/05/24
Support Services
11,182.91
17:09 14/05/24
Synergy Health
2,325.00p
13:25 28/10/15
Tate & Lyle
671.50p
16:54 14/05/24
Technology Hardware & Equipment
1,920.18
16:30 03/05/24
The FTSE 100 was down 0.22% at 7,017.70 early on.
Reports of a imminent Greek debt deal hitting the wires spurred buying on Wednesday, sending the index up 1.2% to close at 7,033.33.
"Of course, whether you believe progress has actually been made depends entirely on which officials you choose to listen to, which does confuse matters somewhat," according to Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
In fact, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble actually said in an interview with ARD television that "negotiations between the three institutions and the Greek government still haven’t come very far".
He said he is “always a bit surprised” when Greece says an agreement is near.
Things are expected to pick up on the economic data calendar after a quiet session on Wednesday, with data due out on UK GDP, UK mortgage loans, Eurozone confidence, US initial jobless claims and US pending homes.
The revision of UK GDP figures for the first quarter out at 09:30 are expected to be revised up to show growth of 0.4% from the initial estimate of 0.3%. The first reading followed 0.6% growth in the fourth quarter of 2014 and marked the lowest level of expansion since the end of 2012.
Sports Direct, Kingfisher and ARM rise
High street sports retailer Sports Direct was a high riser after it lifted its guidance for annual profits due to "continued and prudent depreciation policy and lower interest charges".
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher also impressed after making a "solid" start to the year under new French chief executive Véronique Laury, with like-for-like sales up 0.8% in the first quarter.
Chip designer ARM Holdings was in demand as M&A activity continued across the sector after reports that Broadcom could be snapped up by Avago Technologies in a $35bn deal.
Mining stocks were mostly lower, including Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Glencore. Concerns about China may have also been weighing on shares after HSBC downgraded its Chinese GDP growth forecast for 2015 from 7.3% to 7.1%.
Payment solutions group Paypoint gained after saying its retail networks performed well during the full year, with revenues and profits rising.
Synergy Health extended losses as hopes over the proposed takeover by US outfit Steris Corp continued to fade on rumours that the FTC will move to block the deal.
Shares in Tate & Lyle slid after the sweeteners and food ingredients group said that full-year pre-tax profit dropped 30% as it continues to restructure its business.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,323.24 +0.01%
FTSE 100 7,017.70 -0.22%
FTSE 250 18,206.56 -0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Sports Direct International (SPD) 687.00p +4.33%
Kingfisher (KGF) 378.30p +3.14%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,162.00p +2.02%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,194.00p +1.79%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,114.00p +1.36%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,983.00p +1.28%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 469.50p +1.12%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,801.00p +1.08%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 334.20p +0.97%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,004.00p +0.96%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,017.00p -2.26%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,521.00p -2.14%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 586.00p -1.76%
Glencore (GLEN) 282.55p -1.46%
Fresnillo (FRES) 733.00p -1.41%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,361.50p -1.27%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,845.00p -1.25%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 430.80p -1.24%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 617.90p -1.18%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 754.00p -0.98%
FTSE 250 - Risers
PayPoint (PAY) 921.50p +4.95%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 185.00p +3.35%
Rank Group (RNK) 207.20p +2.57%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 245.50p +2.29%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 1,006.00p +2.08%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,665.00p +1.61%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 319.50p +1.40%
Computacenter (CCC) 740.00p +1.37%
Just Eat (JE.) 473.40p +1.28%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 398.60p +1.17%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Soco International (SIA) 180.50p -5.50%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 935.00p -4.35%
Synergy Health (SYR) 1,746.00p -4.17%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 166.90p -4.08%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 587.50p -3.61%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 579.50p -3.34%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 66.80p -2.91%
ICAP (IAP) 553.00p -2.30%
Marston's (MARS) 169.10p -1.86%
Spectris (SXS) 2,350.00p -1.84%