London open: Greek fears hit stocks as investors await US data barrage

UK stocks slipped on Tuesday morning as investors started a shortened trading week on a cautious note ahead of a raft of economic data from the States.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.58% at 6,991.11 early on with stocks in the banking and oil sectors providing a drag.

Concerns that Greece will struggle to make its €1.6bn debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund next month were also weighing on market sentiment as prime minister Alexis Tsipras called an emerging cabinet meeting to discuss reforms.

Greek stocks dropped over 3% on Monday after interior minister Nikos Voutsis said at the weekend that Athens will not be able to meet its IMF deadline unless its works out a deal with creditors.

Data will be thin on the ground on Tuesday morning, with the Confederation of British Industry's UK quarterly distributive trades survey at 10:00 being the only major economic indicator.

"After its gradual progress last week, the FTSE returned from its Bank Holiday weekend looking a bit sleepy as it opened flat this Tuesday," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

"With only CBI realised sales in the way of figures during the morning, the FTSE will likely have to contend with the ongoing Greek situation in the Eurozone, something that always seems to dominate on the days of little data," he said.

However, the calendar is expected to ramp up later on with tonnes of US data due for release, including durable goods orders, house prices, service-sector activity, new home sales, consumer confidence and regional manufacturing surveys.

Analysts at Danske Bank said the figures "should at least to some degree confirm that growth is poised to rebound in Q2 on the back of a subdued Q1".

Banks and oil stocks fall

Banking stocks were mostly lower, including Barclays, RBS, Standard Chartered and Lloyds, though global lender HSBC bucked the trend to push higher.

Oil group Soco International dropped after analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to 'underweight', saying it sees a "bumpy path for E&Ps". Others in the sector were also trading lower, including Shell, Tullow Oil and BP.

Royal Mail was in demand after Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the postal delivery business to 'hold' and hiked its target price from 440p to 500p.

Software group Micro Focus gained after reiterating its guidance to treble annual revenues on the back of a strong finish to its financial year, helped by the first contribution from its merger with The Attachment Group.

Cineworld also impressed with like-for-like revenue growth of 10.7% in its first quarter, with a stream of blockbuster films expected to deliver strong box office year ahead.

Irish airline Ryanair surged after posting a 66% rise in full-year profit after tax as passenger numbers grew more than three times the company’s targeted level.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,291.45 -0.35%
FTSE 100 6,991.11 -0.58%
FTSE 250 18,111.86 -0.44%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Mail (RMG) 513.00p +1.89%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,963.00p +1.34%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,603.00p +0.75%
Carnival (CCL) 3,157.00p +0.48%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,914.00p +0.40%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 185.10p +0.38%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 622.20p +0.26%
GKN (GKN) 369.90p +0.19%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,210.00p +0.09%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 596.00p +0.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,443.00p -1.47%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,592.00p -1.33%
CRH (CRH) 1,809.00p -1.31%
Centrica (CNA) 276.90p -1.28%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,945.50p -1.27%
Barclays (BARC) 266.80p -1.24%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,976.50p -1.20%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 351.10p -1.13%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,260.00p -1.10%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,178.00p -1.09%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 178.80p +3.05%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,901.00p +2.47%
Saga (SAGA) 214.00p +1.90%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,966.00p +1.39%
Countrywide (CWD) 582.00p +1.04%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 506.00p +1.00%
Alent (ALNT) 371.50p +0.90%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 979.50p +0.82%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 107.50p +0.75%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 315.00p +0.64%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Soco International (SIA) 184.00p -3.21%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 615.00p -3.07%
Lonmin (LMI) 135.30p -2.73%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 616.00p -2.61%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 404.20p -2.58%
Evraz (EVR) 177.50p -2.42%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 168.70p -2.37%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 169.80p -2.19%
RPS Group (RPS) 225.50p -2.13%
Synergy Health (SYR) 2,223.00p -1.98%