London’s blue chip stocks opened very flat this morning following a disappointing overnight session on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones average shed 37 points at 18,126 and the broader-based S&P 500 eased three points to 2,121; the NASDAQ Composite fell nine points to 5,098.
There is little out on the corporate front today all eyes were focussed squarely on the situation in Greece.
Economic leaders at the G7 meeting took time to vent their frustrations with the lingering issue as Greece’s creditors hinted that the country is a long way from finding funding.
Earlier this week, Greek ministers said they were optimistic of a deal by the weekend, but it seems this is now unlikely.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was 14 points lower to 7,026 as it made a languid start to the day.
Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) was the big winner today after an upgrade from Goldman Sachs.
The US financial giant had a change of heart and swapped its ‘sell’ rating for a ‘buy’ one. Shares jumped 3% to 3,041p.
Brokers had a big influence on the index this morning, with engineer Weir Group (LON:WEIR) also higher, 2% to 2,020p, after a 300p target price hike from Credit Suisse.
Meanwhile, equipment rental group Ashtead (LON:AHT) sat at the bottom of the index after US rival United Rentals said activity in May had been “soft”. Shares slipped 1.8% to 1,141p.
Away from the index, data centre company Telecity (LON:TCY) has agreed to be taken over by US rival Equinix for £2.35bn. Despite being worth 1,145p per share, Telecity slipped 5p to 1,085p in early deals.
In the world of small caps, Nostra Terra Oil & Gas (LON:NTOG) reported a 49% increase in revenue for 2014. Shares climbed almost 8% to 0.17p.
Elsewhere, Wearable device specialist CloudTag (LON:CTAG) said £850,000 of debt has been converted into equity. Shares slipped 7% to 3.25p.
Also on the decline was TomCo Energy (LON:TOM) after it revealed it is slimming-down its business and is looking at merger and acquisition options. Shares eased 8% to 0.16p.