London open: FTSE opens lower amid Greek concerns

12th Jun 2015 08:46

The FTSE was trading around 20 points lower early on amid increased concerns about the future of the Greek economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pulled the technical team that was negotiating with Athens.The IMF on Thursday said there were still "major differences" to be overcome and choose to leave negotiations taking place in Brussels and return to Washington. Particular areas of contention are pension and labour market reform."Thursday had been on track for an astonishing level of growth that would have effectively rendered the losses at the start of the week moot - instead, news that the IMF remains displeased with the negotiating tactics of Greece, leading them to leave Brussels with seemingly little progress on a deal, wiped out around half of Thursday's gains in a few minutes, leaving the Eurozone in the green but looking pretty battered with it," said SpreadEx financial analyst Connor Campbell.It provided a "rather sharp reality check", he added."Like a love-sick puppy the UK index has followed the lead of the Eurozone all week, meaning that whilst it spent most of Thursday basking in the glow of the region's hopeful demeanour, the sharp shock of a dour IMF sentiment left the FTSE looking slightly less triumphant this Friday morning."Meanwhile, the focus of the session will also be on UK construction output, Eurozone industrial production and US consumer confidence reports.UK construction output data is expected to show a 0.5% increase year-on-year in April, while Eurozone industrial production is forecast to have risen 1.1% in April compared to a year ago.Later in the session, the US sees the release of the University of Michigan's index on consumer confidence which is projected to increase to 91.4 in June from 90.7 previously.Greece will also continue grab attention as the country tries to work out a deal with creditors to unleash further aid.In company news, GlaxoSmithKline announced that the advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended its Mepolizumab drug for the treatment of adults with severe asthma. Mepolizumab is not currently approved for use anywhere in the world.Segro has exchanged contracts with M&G Real Estate to dissolve The Heathrow Big Box Industrial and Distribution Fund (HBB) ahead of its termination date in June 2016.Market MoverstechMARK 3,201.38 -0.29%FTSE 100 6,826.59 -0.29%FTSE 250 18,020.07 -0.38%FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Mail (RMG) 499.60p +1.28%Glencore (GLEN) 282.50p +0.44%ITV (ITV) 267.60p +0.38%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 362.80p +0.36%BT Group (BT.A) 448.15p +0.29%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,847.00p +0.28%Anglo American (AAL) 1,009.50p +0.20%BAE Systems (BA.) 491.70p +0.20%Barclays (BARC) 269.30p +0.20%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 556.50p +0.18%FTSE 100 - FallersTaylor Wimpey (TW.) 187.10p -1.53%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 608.00p -1.30%Old Mutual (OML) 209.10p -1.18%Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,062.00p -1.07%Compass Group (CPG) 1,111.00p -1.07%Unilever (ULVR) 2,819.00p -1.05%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,941.00p -1.02%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,168.00p -1.00%Persimmon (PSN) 1,961.00p -0.96%CRH (CRH) 1,869.00p -0.85%FTSE 250 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 610.00p +2.52%Ted Baker (TED) 2,869.00p +1.92%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 923.00p +1.88%Rank Group (RNK) 225.30p +1.21%Premier Oil (PMO) 164.00p +0.99%Tullow Oil (TLW) 393.50p +0.95%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,044.00p +0.87%Drax Group (DRX) 378.20p +0.53%Homeserve (HSV) 432.40p +0.53%Cairn Energy (CNE) 189.60p +0.42%FTSE 250 - FallersBwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 94.40p -10.10%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 154.00p -9.62%Lonmin (LMI) 134.60p -3.65%Card Factory (CARD) 358.00p -2.45%Senior (SNR) 313.60p -1.79%Redefine International (RDI) 52.50p -1.78%Diploma (DPLM) 773.50p -1.47%Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 457.50p -1.40%Essentra (ESNT) 1,008.00p -1.37%Saga (SAGA) 215.20p -1.37%