London midday: Markets remain slightly in the red

UK stocks were still slightly lower come midday on the heels of weaker than forecast Japanese growth domestic product (GDP) figures, overnight, and ahead of a critical meeting of Eurozone finance ministers scheduled for the evening.

Traders were watching to see if Greece’s new government and the European Union are able to thrash out a compromise deal to solve the country’s debt burden or at least to ensure its access to external financing while a solution is found.

As of 12:04 the FTSE 100 was trading lower by 16 points to 6,857.98.

That came on a calm day of trading for markets on this side of the Pond, as US trading venues were scheduled to remain closed in observance of the Presidents' Day holiday.

Speaking to German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on the probability that he attached to the possibility of reaching such an agreement, the country’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said: "From what I've heard about the technical talks over the weekend, I'm very sceptical, but we will get a report today and then we'll see."

Japan’s GDP expanded at an annualised pace of 2.2% over the last three months of 2014, data from Japan's Cabinet Office revealed on Monday morning.

That was well below the 3.5% expected by economists.

The latest Eurozone trade figures also underwhelmed market watchers. The single currency area's trade surplus - the excess of exports over imports - hit a record €23.3bn in December, in comparison to the prior month's €21.6bn. However, that was mainly the result of a 2.4% drop in imports, while exports slipped by 1.1%.

That shows that European exporters are still not fully benefiting from the depreciation of the euro, Capital Economics explained to clients in an e-mailed research note.

Oil price moving too quickly to make predictions, Hunting says

Shares in oilfield services firm Hunting reeled after the company said that it “does not believe that it is appropriate at this stage to provide financial guidance for 2015”, due to the rapid changes in the price of oil.

On Monday morning, and on the assumption of a long-term price of oil of $70 per barrel, Morgan Stanley listed Tullow Oil as its most-preferred large-capitalisation oil firm.

Online gambling group 888 Holdings was “unable” to agree on the terms of a possible takeover by William Hill and talks have been called off. The company, which on 10 February confirmed speculation that it was in discussions with the high street bookie, said on Monday that the decision follows concerns from a key shareholder.

Tesco could slash up to 10,000 jobs as part of its attempts to halt a slide in profits, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Fidessa Group reported a 9% fall in full-year pre-tax profit to £39.1m, reflecting the strength of the pound against other currencies. The maker of trading software said revenue declined 1% to £275m in the year ended 31 December 2014. Without the effect of currency translation, revenue and adjusted profit grew 3% as market conditions improved.

Balfour Beatty announced that it had disposed of an 80% interest in the Thanet offshore transmission project for £40m. The 80% share has been acquired by funds managed by core infrastructure asset manager Equitix.

techMARK 3,109.24 -0.60%
FTSE 100 6,862.29 -0.16%
FTSE 250 16,832.47 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 416.20p +2.77%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,521.50p +1.85%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 457.10p +1.83%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 741.50p +1.44%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,178.00p +1.20%
Sky (SKY) 929.50p +1.14%
Glencore (GLEN) 289.80p +1.12%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 965.80p +0.98%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,583.50p +0.92%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 603.30p +0.85%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 848.00p -3.53%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,510.00p -3.28%
Centrica (CNA) 279.80p -2.51%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,845.00p -2.48%
SSE (SSE) 1,542.00p -1.66%
National Grid (NG.) 875.90p -1.61%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,436.00p -1.58%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,485.00p -1.45%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,584.00p -1.34%
Capita (CPI) 1,144.00p -1.21%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 556.50p +6.20%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 174.00p +6.10%
Lonmin (LMI) 170.60p +4.47%
Premier Oil (PMO) 179.40p +3.64%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 510.00p +3.32%
Interserve (IRV) 563.00p +2.64%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 572.50p +2.60%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,559.00p +2.57%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 285.20p +2.37%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 144.60p +2.34%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hunting (HTG) 450.00p -9.33%
Afren (AFR) 6.95p -4.54%
Pace (PIC) 322.90p -3.96%
AO World (AO.) 280.50p -3.28%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,407.00p -2.55%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 917.00p -2.45%
Telecity Group (TCY) 929.00p -2.42%
Redrow (RDW) 344.40p -2.16%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 434.20p -2.07%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 67.75p -2.02%