London open: Greek worries continue to weigh on stocks

8th Jun 2015 08:56

UK shares started the morning lower amid continuing uncertainty around Greece's future and on the heels of mixed foreign trade numbers overnight from China.As of 09:05 the Footsie was lower by 5.55 points to 6,799.02.Over the weekend, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced accusations from the President of the European Commission that he has been distorting the proposals put forward by its international creditors.Jean-Claude Juncker said that in order for the deal negotiations to continue, Tsipras would have to come up with some alternative proposals, saying his current terms are "absurd"."The institutions have already come round to the idea of lower primary surpluses, but I don't see them budging on other key issues unless Greece comes up with a credible alternative," Erlam said.China reported an almost record trade surplus of $59.5bn. Imports fell more quickly than expected by economists, dropping at a 17.6% year-on-year pace in May."The fall in commodity import volumes disappoint hopes that recent policy support measures would shore up import demand," Capital Economics said in a research note.Elsewhere, revised data out from Japan revealed first quarter GDP grew significantly more than had been expected, with the economy growing by 1% in the first quarter, or 3.9% on an annualized basis, significantly ahead of expectations."The revision was mostly driven by higher capital spending which will be music to the ears of the government," said Oanda's senior market analyst Craig Erlam."Consumption was also higher, which may suggest that after a year of trauma following the sales tax hike, the consumer may finally be adjusting."Diageo in billionaire's sights3G Capital, which is owned by Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, is reportedly considering a takeover bid for Diageo.However, Shore Capital was sceptical that a bid would materialise.The broker said: "While Diageo looks less expensive in the short term than say SABMiller, which, in our view, would be the other likely bid candidate for 3G, we believe the latter's cost synergy potential and stronger top-line growth prospects along with its recent share price decline would offer the greater attraction assuming it is not too busy still working through the Kraft/ Heinz deal."In company news, power giant Drax gave a trading update in which it said that while market conditions continued to be challenging, with weak gas markets resulting in the continuation of weak power prices, its expectations for the full year remain unchanged. It continued to experience a strong contracted position and reported a good operational performance by its generating units.On the AIM, construction services group ISG announced the £335,000m acquisition of an additional 49% stake in ACE, its Brazilian fit out partner, taking its interest 69%.Sigma entered into an exclusivity agreement with the Sheffield Housing Company for the provision of new Private Rented Sector homes in the city of Sheffield. Under the terms of the agreement, Sigma and SHC will work together over the next three years to deliver two, three and four bedroom homes for private rent, it said.Market MoverstechMARK 3,230.80 -0.10%FTSE 100 6,809.43 +0.07%FTSE 250 17,918.88 -0.07%FTSE 100 - RisersDiageo (DGE) 1,896.00p +7.70%Vodafone Group (VOD) 246.20p +1.71%Royal Mail (RMG) 499.00p +1.28%Kingfisher (KGF) 381.90p +1.25%BT Group (BT.A) 444.80p +1.23%TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,181.00p +0.94%Pearson (PSON) 1,307.00p +0.85%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 185.90p +0.70%Whitbread (WTB) 5,010.00p +0.66%Persimmon (PSN) 1,921.00p +0.58%FTSE 100 - FallersShire Plc (SHP) 5,335.00p -2.20%GKN (GKN) 360.40p -1.77%ITV (ITV) 261.20p -1.40%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 353.20p -1.06%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 524.50p -1.04%Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,138.00p -0.96%Capita (CPI) 1,213.00p -0.90%St James's Place (STJ) 893.50p -0.89%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,828.00p -0.86%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,388.00p -0.75%FTSE 250 - RisersBalfour Beatty (BBY) 259.30p +4.14%Acacia Mining (ACA) 298.20p +1.81%Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 168.90p +1.69%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 69.40p +1.61%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,117.00p +1.55%Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 332.60p +1.40%Betfair Group (BET) 2,543.00p +1.36%Regus (RGU) 251.90p +1.33%William Hill (WMH) 427.10p +1.23%AO World (AO.) 168.00p +1.20%FTSE 250 - FallersFoxtons Group (FOXT) 234.80p -5.17%Diploma (DPLM) 786.50p -2.05%Clarkson (CKN) 2,454.00p -2.00%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 608.00p -1.94%Laird (LRD) 390.90p -1.59%Indivior (INDV) 237.40p -1.49%BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 306.70p -1.38%Man Group (EMG) 173.90p -1.31%Poundland Group (PLND) 297.50p -1.29%Croda International (CRDA) 2,795.00p -1.20%