London shares stayed in the red on Thursday as Greece's creditors upped the stakes in the stand-off over a debt deal.
The FTSE 100 Index was 6.11 points adrift at 6838.69 at lunchtime amid reports that Eurozone finance ministers had given Greek premier Alexis Tsipras a midday deadline to submit a "workable proposal".
The Eurogroup was understood to be sticking to its plan to work from a ‘unanimously agreed’ creditor-submitted proposal, although this is not thought to have Athens' support.
The ministers appeared to be betting that Tsipras will eventually have to back down as Greece faces the prospect of a messy exit from the eurozone without a deal.
Connor Campbell at spread-betting firm Spreadex said: "June has been a month where the creditor cabal has really tightened the noose around Greece, seemingly ignoring every attempt at compromise from Tsipras with a steely eyed determination to get what it wants."
Tsipras is thought to have tabled fresh proposals involving higher taxes, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants stronger pension reforms.
A relatively flat performance from the dollar pushed US futures higher following falls on Wednesday ahead of a batch of American economic data.
Latest unemployment claims were expected to be slightly higher than last week’s, whilst the Fed-favoured core PCE price index is forecast to be flat at 0.1% and personal spending and income are both predicted to rise.
Campbell said: "If all these dollar-boosting, rate hike-helping figures are correct, then the Dow could be in for another tough day of trading."
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.
News of a $250mln North Sea deal boosted shares in oil services supplier Wood Group (LON:WG. by 1.5p to 681p.
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.
Shares in Independent Resources (LON:IRG) also dropped 0.28p at 0.72p after the North Africa-focused oil explorer said it would still need extra funding in coming
months to keep going and to cover its share of costs on its Ksar Hadada project in Tunisia.
But Amur Minerals (LON:AMC) advanced 5.75p to 30p on news that the eastern Russia metal explorer had completed its acquisition of the detailed exploration and production licence for the Kun-Manie scheme.