London open: Stock markets flat ahead of quiet day

UK stocks were more or less flat in early deals on Friday ahead of a quiet day for the markets in terms of economic data and corporate news.

London's FTSE 100 was trading up just 0.01% at 6,761.79 early on.

As it stands, the Footsie is still nearly 3% lower than where it stood last Friday as a strengthening pound and weak Chinese data weighed on commodity prices, while ongoing concerns about Greek continued to hit sentiment.

Friday is set to be a quiet day in terms of economic data, with UK construction output, the US producer price index (PPI) and University of Michigan (UoM) consumer confidence survey the only major indicators being released.

"The PPI reading can be a good indicator of future inflation so is worth tracking, while the UoM reading could give some insight into consumer spending expectations ahead of the summer," said analyst Craig Erlam from Oanda.

Afren plunges on recapitalisation plan

Shares in Afren tumbled after the struggling oil and gas group proposed a debt-for-equity swap with creditors to address its funding needs and recapitalise its capital structure. The company said it "will result in substantial dilution for existing shareholders", and if shareholders don't approve the plan, the company will have no choice but to initiate a sale.

Glasxosmithkline edged lower after selling half its stake in former South African associate Aspen Pharmacare for £0.57bn. Having sold 28.2m shares, at a price of 372 rand per share, GSK now holds a 6.2% stake in Aspen, South Africa's largest drug company.

JD Wetherspoon served up a slightly short measure of first-half profits as the pubs group saw cost pressures outweigh a rise in revenues. Profits declined 0.9% in the first half while the interim dividend was maintained, causing shares to fall in London.

Costa and Premier Inn owner Whitbread was racking up gains after UBS upgraded the stock to 'neutral' and Deustche Bank raised it to 'buy', while spirits group Diageo was lower after a downgrade by Credit Suisse to 'underperform'.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,177.56 +0.33%
FTSE 100 6,761.79 +0.01%
FTSE 250 17,109.41 +0.28%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Whitbread (WTB) 5,400.00p +2.66%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,180.00p +1.55%
Meggitt (MGGT) 568.00p +1.52%
Wolseley (WOS) 4,110.00p +1.46%
British Land Co (BLND) 816.00p +1.37%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 709.00p +1.21%
GKN (GKN) 366.30p +1.19%
Carnival (CCL) 3,132.00p +1.13%
Fresnillo (FRES) 660.50p +1.07%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,210.00p +1.00%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Diageo (DGE) 1,850.00p -1.70%
SSE (SSE) 1,471.00p -1.34%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,942.00p -1.27%
Centrica (CNA) 238.60p -1.16%
BG Group (BG.) 829.20p -1.12%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,153.00p -1.11%
BP (BP.) 421.95p -0.92%
Sage Group (SGE) 472.40p -0.92%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,424.00p -0.80%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,107.00p -0.54%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 155.10p +4.37%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 454.50p +2.83%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 81.75p +2.64%
Allied Minds (ALM) 635.00p +2.50%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 114.10p +2.33%
Just Eat (JE.) 340.00p +2.22%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 155.20p +2.11%
Workspace Group (WKP) 829.50p +2.09%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 483.80p +2.07%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 780.00p +2.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 5.50p -15.38%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 155.70p -3.41%
Soco International (SIA) 153.40p -3.28%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 785.00p -3.27%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,288.00p -2.84%
Lonmin (LMI) 107.90p -2.53%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 514.50p -2.46%
Cranswick (CWK) 1,378.00p -2.20%
Premier Oil (PMO) 134.60p -1.97%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 323.70p -1.91%