London open: Greek contagion fears sink stocks again

17th May 2012 08:41

- Greek exit contagion fears grip markets again- ECB stops support for some Greek banks- FOMC reveal concerns over the euro crisisThe FTSE 100 was heading for a fourth straight fall on Thursday as concerns over contagion from the Greek debt crisis continued to cloud the outlook for the global economic recovery."The increasing uncertainty in Greece paired with a lack of knowledge about the impact a Greek default could have on the other Eurozone countries sent European stocks down again," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.The minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting were published last night and members expressed concern over the threats from the heightened tension in European debt markets. "Participants identified several downside risks to the projected pace of economic expansion, including the fiscal and financial strains in the euro area and the possibility of an abrupt fiscal consolidation in the United States," the minutes said. It was revealed yesterday that Greece was facing further funding pressures after reports that the European Central Bank (ECB) has stopped funding four of the country's banks as they are under-capitalised. Instead, they will have to use emergency liquidity assistance from the Greek central bank. This comes as the Greek public has been frantically withdrawing millions of euros from banks as a potential exit from the single currency could see a return to the Drachma which would be considerably devalued.After meeting yesterday, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both said that they wanted Greece to stay in the Eurozone. Erlam points out that this was "not exactly surprising given how much both countries look set to lose if Greece defaults."No major economic data is scheduled for release in the UK today.FTSE 100: Vedanta, Aviva lead the declineDiversified mining group Vedanta Resources was a heavy faller as full-year revenue came in slightly below forecasts. Nevertheless, the company said it achieved record production across several key commodity classes and that the demand outlook remains strong, especially in the emerging markets.Aviva, the general insurer which recently lost its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after a shareholder revolt over pay, fell after saying that operating profit for the first quarter of the year was marginally down on the corresponding period of last year. Stripping out the effects of the sale of car rescue service RAC and the de-consolidation of Delta Lloyd - which is no longer a subsidiary since the group sold down its stake - sees operating profit show a slight increase. Mining firm Antofagasta also dipped into the red despite seeing group turnover and EBITDA jump 38.9% and 35.4%, respectively, in the first quarter. The group revealed that copper production fell 12.9% quarter-on-quarter.Energy supplier National Grid fell early on despite an increase in profits and the dividend, as revenues eased and capex guidance for the 2012/13 fiscal year was revised higher. Net debt is also expected to increase by around £1.5bn during the current year.Intertek, the quality and safety testing firm, edged higher after saying strong organic growth in the first quarter has been complemented by a big boost in revenues from the acquisition of Moody International. Interdealer broker ICAP was performing well after UBS upgraded its rating on the stock from sell to neutral and raised its target price from 310p to 330p.FTSE 250: TalkTalk surges, Kesa dropsThe final results from telecoms group TalkTalk pleased the market this morning as shares jumped by 15% after the firm hit its 20% EBITDA margin target significantly ahead of schedule. Revenues slipped 4% during the year to the end of March but earnings surged.Kesa Electricals fell steeply after saying that trading conditions in the final quarter of its fiscal year were "weak" and "volatile". The electrical retailer said that continuing group revenue in the period between January 9th and April 30th fell by 5.9% on a like-for-like basis, mainly due to a 30% decline in its Vision division (TVs, DVD players, etc.) following the digital switchover last year.FTSE 100 - RisersICAP (IAP) 345.50p +2.67%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,457.00p +1.25%Carnival (CCL) 2,054.00p +1.23%Wolseley (WOS) 2,233.00p +0.95%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,674.00p +0.73%Compass Group (CPG) 631.00p +0.64%BAE Systems (BA.) 273.70p +0.62%IMI (IMI) 897.50p +0.56%BG Group (BG.) 1,275.50p +0.43%Evraz (EVR) 328.80p +0.34%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 986.00p -3.90%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 28.04p -2.21%Man Group (EMG) 80.40p -1.83%CRH (CRH) 1,081.00p -1.82%Glencore International (GLEN) 356.75p -1.76%Vodafone Group (VOD) 165.35p -1.52%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 252.20p -1.45%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 475.10p -1.45%Barclays (BARC) 186.35p -1.43%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 150.60p -1.38%FTSE 250 - RisersTalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 153.00p +15.30%Cookson Group (CKSN) 696.00p +8.16%Restaurant Group (RTN) 294.80p +6.43%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 612.00p +5.52%Marston's (MARS) 98.95p +4.82%Amlin (AML) 332.40p +4.53%Premier Oil (PMO) 343.60p +4.37%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 92.00p +4.37%Invensys (ISYS) 212.90p +4.06%Shanks Group (SKS) 86.10p +3.99%FTSE 250 - FallersKesa Electricals (KESA) 48.90p -9.61%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 14.90p -1.32%Merchants Trust (MRCH) 361.20p -1.31%British Assets Trust (BSET) 116.70p -1.27%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 207.00p -1.15%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 412.60p -1.13%City of London Inv Trust (CTY) 282.00p -1.09%Smith (DS) (SMDS) 146.60p -1.01%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 212.50p -0.93%Investec (INVP) 325.80p -0.88%BC