London’s blue chip stocks opened cautiously this morning following a mixed session in the US overnight.
Wall Street trading saw new record highs as the market initially took positively the Federal Reserve minutes from April’s policy meeting – though initial enthusiasm was soon dampened.
All three major Wall Street indices saw new highs before losing steam as analysis considered what weaker economics would actually mean for stocks.
Meanwhile in Europe, Greek negotiations are looking promising with a deal on the horizon according to finance minister Yannis Varoufakis.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was 3 points higher to 7,009 led by mining stocks.
Chinese data showed business confidence picked up in May, with a possible uptick in demand a boost to the UK mining sector.
Silver and gold miner Fresnilllo (LON:FRES) led the risers, climbing 1.6% to 771p while there were also gains for Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), 1% to 2,897p, and Anglo American (LON:AAL) 0.5% to 1,070p.
On the other end of the spectrum, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) led the fallers, easing 4.5% to 183p, as it traded ex-dividend.
Away from the FTSE 100, wholesaler Booker Group (LON:BOK) announced it is acquiring Budgens and Londis owner Musgrave. Shares leapt 10% to 167p.
In small caps, Stratex International‘s (LON:STI) associate Goldstone (LON:GRL) has identified two potentially new gold zones at Homase/Akrokerri in Ghana.
Shares in Stratex climbed 7% to 1.1p while Goldstone made a similar gain to 2.6p.
Meanwhile, mobile marketing and digital entertainment firm InternetQ (LON:INTQ) saw strong growth in revenue and earnings in the first quarter. Shares climbed 5% to 335p.