London open: UK stocks flat as investors watch Greece, Fed decision

UK stocks paused at a three-month low on Wednesday morning ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision, as negative newsflow from Greece continued to dampen risk appetite.

The FTSE 100 was trading 0.1% lower at 6,703.24 after settling at 6,710.10 on Tuesday, its lowest close since 10 March.

The index touched an intraday low of 6,698.16 early on; if it finishes Wednesday’s session below the 6,700 mark, it would mark its worst close since mid-January.

Ongoing developments in the Greek debt crisis continue to be in focus for the markets as concerns about a potential ‘Grexit’ grow, with Athens continuing to butt heads with its creditors.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has launched a scathing attack on the IMF in particular, saying the Fund bears “criminal responsibility” for his country’s financial problems.

His comments came as UK Chancellor George Osborne revealed that Whitehall had stepped up its contingency planning in case of Greece leaves the euro. Osborne warned people not to “underestimate the potential damage to financial confidence” from a Grexit.

Meanwhile, the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting comes to an end on Wednesday evening and will likely to steal the spotlight with investors looking out for possible hints about the first rate hike.

Analysts generally don’t expect the Fed to tighten monetary policy at this month’s meeting in light of recent mixed data on the US economy.

Berkeley leads housebuilders higher

Property developer Berkeley Group impressed investors after posting a 44.6% jump in full-year pre-tax profit to £423.5m. The company said domestic demand was strong in its core markets of London and the south of England, and the developer has experienced sales price increases in line with those reported in the wider market.

Others in the sector such as Persimmon and Barratt Developments were also in demand.

Betfair declined despite meeting analysts’ forecasts with a 53% rise in full-year operating profit as product and marketing investment drove record customer activity. Broker Numis raised its rating on the stock from ‘sell’ to ‘reduce’, but said its valuation was still “too high”.

High street sports retailer JD Sports Fashion edged lower despite saying it expects to meet annual forecasts after a solid start to the year. However, the company did note tough comparatives with the previous year and weaker margins in Europe.

Tobacco stocks rose after upbeat comments from Goldman Sachs. The US bank upgraded British American Tobacco to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’ and reinstated a ‘buy’ rating on Imperial Tobacco, adding the latter to its conviction list.

Supermarket rivals Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco fell after Credit Suisse initiated coverage of the sector with a negative stance. The bank said it sees few opportunities within a group that has historically misallocated capital, is faced with extreme competitive pressures and operates in a low-growth environment.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,156.83 +0.10%
FTSE 100 6,703.24 -0.10%
FTSE 250 17,730.38 -0.03%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Wolseley (WOS) 4,170.00p +1.19%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,981.00p +1.12%
CRH (CRH) 1,845.00p +0.87%
BT Group (BT.A) 449.10p +0.86%
Centrica (CNA) 269.50p +0.79%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,145.00p +0.70%
Whitbread (WTB) 5,105.00p +0.69%
St James's Place (STJ) 886.50p +0.68%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,267.00p +0.65%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,265.00p +0.57%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Experian (EXPN) 1,198.00p -1.32%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,785.00p -1.27%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 257.70p -1.11%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 932.00p -1.01%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,015.00p -0.98%
Tesco (TSCO) 209.60p -0.90%
BAE Systems (BA.) 477.00p -0.87%
Kingfisher (KGF) 369.00p -0.83%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 497.90p -0.82%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,470.00p -0.81%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,393.00p +7.44%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,775.00p +2.85%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 65.00p +2.36%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 406.20p +2.11%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 183.20p +2.06%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 226.00p +2.03%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 381.60p +1.49%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 139.60p +1.45%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 620.00p +1.39%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,172.00p +1.38%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Just Eat (JE.) 401.20p -4.97%
AO World (AO.) 141.20p -3.15%
Betfair Group (BET) 2,441.00p -2.90%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 153.00p -2.55%
Amlin (AML) 474.10p -2.37%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 155.50p -2.20%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 771.50p -1.84%
Lonmin (LMI) 125.00p -1.57%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 228.60p -1.47%
Greggs (GRG) 1,166.00p -1.35%