The London market started on the back foot as optimism about a potential Greek debt deal earlier in the week began to recede.
The FTSE 100 Index was 3.51 points adrift at 6841.29 in mid-morning trading as dealers awaited a Eurogroup meeting later Thursday after late night talks ended without agreement.
Greek premier Alexis Tsipras tabled fresh proposals involving higher taxes, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants stronger pension reforms.
Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets said: "Bargaining room is shrinking for the embattled Tsipras & co."
IG Markets analyst Stan Shamu said: “Optimism around a Greek deal had been driving price action all week but a stall in the negotiation process has put the brakes on the rally."
“As far as we know, Greece was in negotiations with creditors deep into the night but no agreement was reached.
“Even if we do get a deal, this does not guarantee the country can pay the IMF on time.”
Wall Street ended Wednesday’s session in the red with all three major benchmarks falling.
The Dow Jones shed 178 points, 0.98%, to 17,966 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.74% and the Nasdaq was down a similar amount.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.75% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was about 50% lower.
Australia’s ASX 200 lost about 0.8% while Japan’s Nikkei fared better, down just 0.15%.
On the equity markets, Debenhams (LON:DEB) rose 0.55p to 90.85p as it said it was on track to hit full year targets despite flat sales in the third quarter.
Shares in the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSE) were flat at 2451p as it reported good progress with its newly acquired US index business Frank Russell.
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) shrugged off early losses to stand 3p ahead at 1901.5p after an upgrade to 'buy' from Deutsche Bank.
Costain (LON:COST) lifted 1.75p to 339.25p as the construction group reported a £500mln rise in its order book to a record £3.7bn ahead of first half results.
African oil explorer Afren (LON:AFR) gushed 0.14p to 2.14p on news of a board shake-up including the appointment of a new chairman, David Frauman.
Bathroom fittings supplier Norcros (LON:NXR) floated a penny higher to 19.5p as it bought privately owned bathroom furnishings maker Croydex Group for £21.9mln.
But Trap Oil (LON:TRAP) leaked 0.2p to 0.42p after a North Sea well came up dry.