London open: Stocks inch lower ahead of key Greek summit

UK stocks were trading slightly lower on Tuesday morning as investors awaited news from a meeting of Eurozone officials to discuss fresh proposals from Greece.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.17% at 6,524.60 early on with oil and gas stocks out of favour following the recent plunge in crude prices.

Stocks worldwide had slumped on Monday after the Greek public voted a resounding 'no' to creditors' bailout proposals, pushing the country further down the road to a potential Eurozone exit.

However, downside was limited following the surprise resignation of confrontational Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, with analysts hopeful that future negotiations with creditors will run more smoothly.

Eurogroup finance ministers are set to meet at 1200 BST to prepare for a Eurozone leaders summit at 1700 BST.

“In a repeat of so many days over the past five months, a EU summit this evening preceded by a Eurogroup get together this afternoon is set to dominant the market discourse and bore investors to tears,” said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor have both urged Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to come up with a new plan to restart funding discussions. Hollande said Tsipras must “offer serious, credible proposals”.

Oil stocks fall, ARM and M&S rise

Oil producers and energy services stocks such as BP, Shell, Wood Group, Amec Foster Wheeler and Nostrum Oil & Gas were trading lower after one of the steepest sell-offs in crude this year. West Texas Intermediate fell almost 8% on Monday, while Brent dropped over 6%.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings was a high riser after Morgan Stanley added the stock to its “Best Ideas” list in Europe and upgraded the stock to an ‘overweight’ rating. “Past the iPhone 6 upgrade cycle, we like the long duration of the revenue and earnings growth, in a context of slow global growth,” it said.

Marks & Spencer gained after first-quarter sales were better than City analysts had feared, with clothing like-for-like sales down just 0.4% compared with the -1% forecast.

Construction and outsourcing firm Interserve edged lower despite saying its results were on track after it reported that UK construction conditions were still “challenging”.

Technology group Smiths Group fell after appointing Andrew Reynolds Smith, the head of GKN’s automotive division, as its new chief executive. GKN also fell.

Weir Group slumped after announcing the acquisition of US-based Delta Industrial Valves for an enterprise value of up to $47m.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce was extending losses after a profit warning on Monday, as Espirito Santo and JPMorgan both downgraded their recommendations on the stock.

Lloyds gained after Canacccord Genuity raised its rating on the stock from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’, highlighting that its capital ratio is “currently one of the strongest in the UK large bank listed space”.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,106.45 +0.21%
FTSE 100 6,524.60 -0.17%
FTSE 250 17,442.11 -0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,067.00p +2.99%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 495.30p +2.29%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,596.00p +1.27%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,243.00p +1.06%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 85.01p +1.02%
Old Mutual (OML) 205.50p +0.88%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,185.50p +0.88%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,430.00p +0.83%
3i Group (III) 516.50p +0.78%
Capita (CPI) 1,265.00p +0.72%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 779.00p -2.93%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,629.00p -2.22%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,122.00p -1.67%
BP (BP.) 423.25p -1.46%
Anglo American (AAL) 874.40p -1.00%
Glencore (GLEN) 245.15p -0.99%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 662.50p -0.97%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,884.00p -0.96%
Fresnillo (FRES) 680.50p -0.95%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,772.00p -0.89%

FTSE 250 - Risers
AO World (AO.) 134.40p +3.38%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 635.00p +1.93%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 615.00p +1.82%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 639.00p +1.59%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,289.00p +1.50%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 441.00p +1.45%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 454.80p +1.43%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,216.00p +1.33%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 319.20p +1.27%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,956.00p +1.27%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Evraz (EVR) 112.00p -3.53%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 611.00p -3.48%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 867.50p -2.64%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 311.90p -2.47%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 603.00p -2.43%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 308.50p -2.37%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 791.00p -2.35%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 407.70p -2.21%
Lonmin (LMI) 104.20p -2.16%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 194.50p -1.97%