London close: UK stocks sink 2% on Greek exit fears, oil-price plunge

The FTSE 100 finished the session down 130.64 points at 6,417.16, its lowest close since 17 December as stocks in the oil and mining sectors dropped sharply.

Analyst Alastair McCaig from IG said that "trading screens [were] a sea of red as talk of a Greek exit from the Eurozone drives equity markets lower".

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the policies of opposition party Syriza, which is leading polls, could drive Greece into default and out of the 19-nation European single currency.

"The rise of the anti-austerity Syriza party has sent shivers down the spine of dealers as they are well positioned for the election this month. A victory for the left-wing party does not automatically mean a Greek exit but traders will certainly see it that way," McCaig said.

Meanwhile, crude prices declined for the third consecutive day on the back of record supplies from Russia and Iraq. Brent crude dropped below $55 a barrel (bbl) for the first time since May 2009.

Investors were also showing caution ahead of a busy week on the economic calendar. Inflation figures from the Eurozone, a Bank of England rate decision and the US jobs report are all due for release over the coming days, along with service-sector data from across the globe.

Travel stocks rise, but resource shares tank

Hopes about lower fuel costs were boosting share prices in the travel sector with Carnival, IAG and Easyjet flying high by the close.

Brent crude was trading down nearly 6% at $53.15/bbl. As such, oil producers such as Shell, BP and Tullow Oil and energy services group Weir were under pressure.

BP was also weighed down by speculation that the recent collapse of oil and a weak rouble will hit its fourth-quarter results, due to its exposure to Russia through its stake in Rosneft.

Mining stocks were also down, including BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore. Copper hit its lowest in over four years the previous session and was down a further 1.5% at $6,149.75 a metric tonne in afternoon trade.

However, Randgold Resources and Fresnillo were on the rise as gold and silver prices increased. Gold was up for the second straight day as concerns about a potential Greek exit spurred safe-haven demand.

Department-store chain Marks & Spencer was falling sharply after Societe Generale downgraded its rating on the stock from 'buy' to 'hold' following a recovery in the shares since the company's results in November. The bank said the "shares are well rated versus recent history and so we downgrade to 'hold'".

Market Movers
techMARK 2,941.96 -0.57%
FTSE 100 6,417.16 -2.00%
FTSE 250 15,921.68 -0.81%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,536.00p +2.79%
Carnival (CCL) 2,980.00p +1.71%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,182.00p +1.46%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 493.50p +1.33%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,703.00p +1.19%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,162.00p +0.87%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,175.00p +0.86%
Meggitt (MGGT) 513.50p +0.59%
British Land Co (BLND) 766.50p +0.59%
Fresnillo (FRES) 768.50p +0.46%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,764.00p -6.32%
BP (BP.) 389.70p -5.06%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,126.50p -4.94%
Glencore (GLEN) 282.50p -4.91%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,128.50p -4.79%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,316.50p -4.46%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 396.40p -4.27%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 456.80p -4.25%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 233.50p -4.07%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,080.00p -4.06%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,130.00p +7.47%
Alent (ALNT) 350.70p +4.07%
Man Group (EMG) 165.40p +2.80%
Poundland Group (PLND) 330.70p +2.77%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 452.00p +2.73%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,162.00p +2.61%
IP Group (IPO) 212.00p +2.51%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,253.00p +2.41%
RPC Group (RPC) 515.00p +2.39%
Pace (PIC) 348.00p +2.17%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Drax Group (DRX) 421.50p -7.26%
Premier Oil (PMO) 153.10p -7.04%
Afren (AFR) 42.52p -6.77%
Hunting (HTG) 490.00p -6.49%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 665.00p -6.47%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,199.00p -6.33%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 578.50p -6.01%
Lonmin (LMI) 166.60p -4.85%
Evraz (EVR) 145.00p -4.61%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 249.00p -4.49%