US open
US equities started on the front foot, bucking the trend in Europe, and the benchmark Dow Jones is up 60 points.
Meanwhile, the tech heavy Nasdaq added nine to go to 5,038 in early trade, while the S&P 500 added five points at 2,089.
Investors are coming back to shares after a weak run on Wall Street.
Despite increasing fears over a Greek exit from the Eurozone, US traders are perhaps buoyed by the positive potential of the FED policy meeting which starts tomorrow, which will give a more detailed update on the state of the American economy.
Commentators have said the statement is likely to sound more upbeat than in April and therefore puts the question of the interest rate rise back in the frame.
There's no doubt that European shares have been impacted by the Greek situation, not least after talks by the two protagonists broker down on Sunday.
On the US corporate front , a notable riser was Garmin International, which added 1.7% to US$44.96 after it introduced a next generation aviator watch.
Also up was building materials distributor Weyerhaeuser, which added 1.05% to US$32.38 after it hired David Helmers as vice president.
Helmers has been at the group for 20 years.
Lunchtime
Video game developer Frontier Developments (LON:FDEV) has released the first game to be offered as part of Microsoft's new Xbox One Game Preview Program (GPP).
Microsoft announced the release as part of their keynote presentation at the E3 games industry trade show in Los Angeles.
Released yesterday, the Elite:Dangerous Game preview available for Xbox One gives gamers early access to content before its general release.
The idea behind the scheme is for Xbox fans to preview work-in-progress titles, take part in the development process and help developers create a better game.
GPP players will also be the first to access new content with the forthcoming close quarter championships feature expected to be released in July.
David Braben, chief executive of Frontier said: “We are delighted to be able to work closely with Microsoft in this new way to engage with Xbox One players.”
“The GPP release of Elite: Dangerous for Xbox One is trailblazing "early access" content on consoles. We will be able to leverage our experience in early access to ensure we bring Elite: Dangerous to a new console audience without compromise.”
The official launch of Elite: Dangerous on Xbox One will take place later this year.
Shares gained 3.5p to 221.5p on the news.
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 was 30 points lower at lunch to 6,681 as Greece remains in stalemate with its creditors.
“The noises now coming out of Germany are inferring that Capital controls could be the next course of action should some compromise not materialise before the weekend” Alastair McCaig at IG said.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, however, is sticking to a hard line of negotiating as he aims to unlock funds, as well as bring an end to austerity in the country.
European markets suffered across the board today with the Cac 40 in Paris losing 24 points to 4,791 while the Frankfurt-based Dax eased 62 points to 10,922.
Back in the UK, consumer price index data showed that the brief flirt with deflation is over as a 0.2% monthly rise in consumer prices in May lifted annual rate back up to 0.1%.
In equities, cigarette-makers are back in fashion as British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) was 3% higher to 3,516p while Imperial Tobacco (LON:IMT) added 53p to 3,228p.
Both were boosted by an upgrade to ‘outperform’ from Credit Suisse. The bank has restarted coverage of the two after the recent merger of Reynolds and Lorillard.
At the other end of the index was Ashtead despite the tool hire group racking up record annual profits as the housing and construction recovery in Europe and the US boosted demand for equipment.
Sanlam Securities said the results were good, but noted that a “drag effect” from new openings and acquisitions held back Sunbelt's margin. Shares eased 3% to 1,093p.
In small caps, Iodine producer Iofina (LON:IOF) expects to exceed the upper end of production guidance in the first half of 2015. Share climbed 9.5% to 26p.
Meanwhile, boiler specialist Flowgroup (LON:FLOW) warned it will see a substantial drop in the number of installations this year due to a lower rate of VAT on energy-saving products. Shares plummeted 35% to 15.8p.
London open
London’s blue chip stocks opened lower again this morning as concerns over Greece's debt situation weighed on sentiment in Europe.
Reports suggest that Greece will not present new proposals at a meeting of European finance ministers today, suggesting it is drawing a line in the sand in the negotiations.
Prime minister Alexis Tsipras has said creditors have made unrealistic demands in recent negotiations but time is running out to find common ground between the two sides.
Overnight US benchmarks all fell back while in Asia, the story was similar, with fears of a Greek exit from the Eurozone prompting selling.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was 27 points lower to 6,683 with Costa Coffee owner Whitbread (LON:WTB) near the bottom of the index despite a good start to the year.
Like-for-like sales rose 4.3% in the first quarter but were below analysts’ expectations of 5% and shares lost 25p to 5,015p.
Meanwhile, leading the index was British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) after German bank Berenberg puffed up its target price to 4,000p from 3,850p and repeated a 'buy' rating. Shares rose 2.6% to 3,500p on the news.
Also higher was drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) after reports it could become the latest takeover target in the pharmaceutical industry emerged yesterday.
Dealers were speculating that Glaxo may face an approach from Roche of Switzerland or Johnson & Johnson of the US at about 1900p per share, valuing it at more than £92billion. Shares rose 12p to 1,363p.
Away from the index, housebuilder Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST) posted higher half-year sales and profits but warned that it was facing a labour shortage. Shares lost 2.5% to 530p.
In broker news, betting shop chain Ladbrokes (LON:LAD) was boosted by an upgrade by Morgan Stanley.
The US broker bumped it up to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ sending shares 2.5% higher to 120p.
In small caps, LekOil (LON:LEK) received ministerial consent for its acquisition of a 40% interest in the Otakikpo Marginal Field.
It comes after LekOil struck a deal with Green Energy for the project in May last year. Shares climbed 10% to 26p on the news.
Elsewhere, Europa Oil & Gas (LON:EOG) was higher after consultant ERC Equipoise estimated the AIM-listed explorer’s 15% interest in three prospects within frontier exploration licence 3/13 to be an unrisked US$1.6bn. Shares climbed more than 7% to 8.7p.
Conversely, Sound Oil (LON:SOU) has decided to abandon the second Nervesa appraisal well without performing side-track operations. Shares lost 11% to 14p.
Meanwhile, Mosman Oil and Gas (LON:MSMN) has determined its preferred drill location on the Murchison permit in New Zealand’s South Island but drilling is conditional on funding, land access and regulatory consent. Shares eased 10% to 3.1p.
Boiler and energy expert Flowgroup (LON:FLOW) was the biggest faller in early deals, however, after it announced a substantial reduction in the number of boilers it expects to install this year. Shares dropped 34% to 15.8p.
Market preview
UK stocks are set for a steady opening, despite weakness overnight from global markets.
Spread betting quotes suggest the FTSE 100 will open three or four points above last night's close of 6,711.
Concerns over Greece's debt situation are likely to weigh on sentiment once again, as they did yesterday on markets across the world. Reports suggest that Greece will not present new proposals at a meeting of European finance ministers, suggesting it is drawing a line in the sand in the negotiations.
The US benchmarks all fell back, with the Dow Jones average off 108 points at 17,791, the broader-based S&P 500 down 10 points at 2,084 and the Nasdaq Composite 21 points lower at 5,030.
In Asia, the story is similar, with fears of a Greek exit from the Eurozone prompting selling.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng is down 156 points at 26,706 while Chinese stocks are also taking a battering in Shanghai, where the Composite index is down 95 at 4,969.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan is looking nailed on to finish in negative territory as well, with the index down 138 points at 20,250 near the end of trading.
In the UK, the corporate agenda is light, with a trading update from electrical components distributor Premier Farnell (LON:PFL) expected, while Costa Coffee owner Whitbread (LON:WTB) and took hire firm Ashtead (LON:AHT) also set to update the market.