London open: Greek woes pull UK stocks back from record high

London's stock market pulled back slightly on Thursday morning, with investors pausing for breath after a record-setting session the previous day.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.19% at 7,083.32 in early deals, retreating from Wednesday's all-time closing high of 7,096.78. The index also set a record intraday high of 7,111.72 during Wednesday's session.

Developments in Greece were likely weighing on sentiment after Athens made an informal approach to the International Monetary Fund about delaying loan repayments, only to be told that rescheduling was not possible. The IMF is owed nearly €1bn in two payments due in May.

German finance minster Wolfgang Schäuble said on Wednesday that an agreement between Greece and its international creditors is unlikely to be reached at the next Eurogroup eating on 24 April. Meanwhile, an advisor to the Greek government has reportedly suggested that the government may hold a referendum.

A raft of US economic data will be in focus on Thursday, including building permits, housing starts, jobless claims and the Philly Fed index. Figures released on Wednesday mostly disappointed, with New York manufacturing and US industrial production both falling.

Federal Reserve officials Dennis Lockhart and Stanley Fisher, both of whom are voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee, are both due to speak later on Thursday.

The Fed's Beige Book released on Wednesday evening showed that the economy improved in February and March despite recent bad weather. However, the outlook was subdued, with growth being described as "moderate" and "slight" across many regions.

Profits warnings from Telecom Plus and Petra Diamonds

Telecom Plus shares plummeted 23.5% after the group warned that profit growth for 2015 and 2016 will be well below market expectations as the Utility Warehouse owner unexpectedly wrote down a large amount of unbilled customer debt.

Petra Diamonds plunged 11.7% as the diamond mining group said its annual results are expected to fall below market expectations due to poorer diamond grades it found at its Cullinanin mine in South Africa.

Meanwhile, blue chips BAE Systems, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Capita, Intu Properties, Smith & Nephew and Reckitt Benckiser were all trading with heavy losses after going ex-dividend.

Unilever jumped after enjoying a strong start to 2015 with underlying sales for the first quarter ahead of analyst estimates as the consumer goods colossus said it had started to see "more tailwinds than headwinds" in its markets.

Miller Lite and Grolsch maker SABMiller also rose as strong growth in Africa and Latin America helped to accelerate net producer revenue growth in the fourth quarter to 6% from 4%.

In contrast, sector peer Diageo fell as organic sales declined 0.7% in the third quarter, a much worse result than the small increase analysts had expected, as the drinks group blamed currency headwinds in Latin America and tough comparatives in the UK.

UK housebuilder Persimmon was also unwanted after saying that despite an "encouraging start" to 2015, political uncertainty ahead of the elections next month meant it is increasingly difficult to secure planning consents for sites in the land market.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,233.86 -0.53%
FTSE 100 7,083.32 -0.19%
FTSE 250 17,801.25 -0.40%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Unilever (ULVR) 3,067.00p +4.53%
GKN (GKN) 374.20p +2.77%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,665.50p +2.25%
Fresnillo (FRES) 754.50p +2.24%
CRH (CRH) 1,889.00p +1.72%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,060.00p +1.50%
Glencore (GLEN) 302.95p +1.35%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,484.00p +0.82%
Old Mutual (OML) 237.90p +0.76%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 358.40p +0.76%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
BAE Systems (BA.) 513.50p -3.57%
Meggitt (MGGT) 546.50p -3.10%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,107.00p -3.04%
Intu Properties (INTU) 353.60p -2.78%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 277.80p -2.42%
Diageo (DGE) 1,919.50p -2.41%
Capita (CPI) 1,126.00p -2.26%
St James's Place (STJ) 955.50p -1.75%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,960.00p -1.57%
Pearson (PSON) 1,407.00p -1.40%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Debenhams (DEB) 83.20p +4.52%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 579.00p +2.84%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 550.00p +2.04%
Hunting (HTG) 610.00p +2.01%
Drax Group (DRX) 428.50p +1.93%
Soco International (SIA) 192.40p +1.91%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 289.10p +1.87%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 614.50p +1.74%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 199.00p +1.63%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,002.00p +1.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Telecom Plus (TEP) 748.00p -23.52%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 162.80p -11.67%
Amlin (AML) 488.50p -7.83%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,750.00p -2.21%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,042.00p -2.16%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 137.20p -2.14%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 275.40p -2.10%
Premier Oil (PMO) 174.50p -2.08%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 162.80p -1.87%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 170.30p -1.84%