London close: Greek fears rattle stocks, but miners limit downside

London's FTSE 100 had trimmed losses by the end of the session but still finished in the red as ongoing concerns about the future of Greece weighed on market sentiment.

"Eurozone equities are being ground down by Greek fears, and financial stocks across the EU are bearing the brunt of the sell-off," said analyst David Madden from IG.

The UK benchmark index finished down 0.2% at 6,837.15, though decent gains in the mining sector pared an earlier decline of as much as 1% to an intraday low of 6,777.99.

Mining stocks were resilient in the face of some gloomy economic figures from top metals consumer China, as hopes increased for further stimulus measures by Beijing to avert a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

The Chinese trade surplus unexpectedly ballooned to a record $60bn in January from $49.6bn the month before, as imports sank by an annual rate of 19.9% while exports fell 3.3%.

Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets said that the data "is likely to increase the pressure on Chinese officials to implement further measures to ease policy further after last week’s triple-R cut".

Developments in Greece were continuing to steal the market's attention after new prime minister Alexis Tsipras stood firm on his plans to ease austerity measures and reverse reforms imposed by its lenders.

In his first major speech to Parliament this weekend since taking his new role, he said: "After five years of bailout barbarity, our people cannot take any more."

Speculation about a possible Greek exit from the Eurozone continued to weigh on investors' minds after UK prime minister David Cameron met with Bank of England and treasury officials to discuss a hypothetical 'Grexit'.

Miners advance, financials fall

Mining names such as Fresnillo, Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Randgold were among the highest risers on the FTSE 100 on hopes for further stimulus measures in China.

Randgold advanced after hiking its dividend by 20% despite a 17% drop in annual profits last year, while investors of Anglo American were shrugging off the news that the contribution to underlying profits from its platinum division in South Africa plummeted 92% in 2014 as a result of a five-month strike and lower metal prices.

Furthermore, IG's Madden added: "Natural resource stocks are attractive when stacked up against banks and insurers that have large exposures to continental Europe."

Accordingly, banking peers RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds all suffered, while insurance groups such as Old Mutual, Aviva and RSA Insurance declined.

Natural gas producer BG Group rose after bringing forward the starting date of its new boss by one month. Statoil’s Helge Lund will join immediately, the company said.

Concerns about overpaying for Premier League broadcast rights were weighing on shares BT and Sky, amid reports that the auction could be heading for a second round and with a third bidder.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,070.55 -0.76%
FTSE 100 6,837.15 -0.24%
FTSE 250 16,586.51 -0.59%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 896.00p +4.19%
Glencore (GLEN) 275.60p +3.84%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,184.00p +3.36%
BG Group (BG.) 963.00p +3.01%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 422.00p +2.90%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,542.50p +2.49%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,095.00p +2.20%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 716.50p +2.07%
Tesco (TSCO) 233.40p +2.06%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,415.00p +1.98%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,741.00p -3.48%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 439.00p -3.37%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 962.50p -3.12%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,272.00p -2.30%
GKN (GKN) 371.10p -2.26%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,055.00p -2.22%
Hammerson (HMSO) 685.00p -2.21%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,050.00p -2.19%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,162.00p -2.11%
National Grid (NG.) 890.10p -2.11%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Hunting (HTG) 548.50p +10.23%
Serco Group (SRP) 196.70p +7.14%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 130.40p +6.97%
RPS Group (RPS) 217.90p +6.29%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 244.90p +5.56%
Premier Oil (PMO) 171.20p +5.48%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 805.00p +4.89%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 69.75p +4.89%
Soco International (SIA) 310.00p +4.77%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 630.50p +4.21%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,333.00p -5.55%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 545.00p -4.89%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 390.00p -4.29%
Man Group (EMG) 168.00p -4.27%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 98.35p -4.05%
Halma (HLMA) 678.50p -3.90%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,015.00p -3.88%
Dignity (DTY) 1,845.00p -3.15%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 634.00p -3.06%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 691.50p -3.02%