London backtracked with the rest of Europe as the Greece saga rumbled on towards no seeming conclusion.
FTSE100 was 53 points lower at 6,755 as investors contemplated another weekend of threats, counter threats and Cassandra-esque predictions between Greece and creditors ahead of next Tuesday’s €1.6bn debt repayment deadline.
The Eurogroup ministers will have to give up another weekend to meet tomorrow with a summit now planned for Sunday. Greece’s parliament, meanwhile, has to debate any new proposals for at least two days, said insiders.
Back in the UK, Tesco (LON:TSCO) was the star turn despite another set of weak sales numbers.
Shares in the beleaguered supermarket rose by 3% to 225p as the like-for-like fall of 1.3% in the 113 weeks to May was seen as better than feared.
Trinity Mirror (LON:TNI) did not fare so well, with the shares 4% lower as it announced extra cost cuts to offset a challenging environment in print advertising.
Among the small caps, regenerative med-tech Tissue Regenix (LON:TRX) rose 11% to 20.5p as it received Medicare approval in the US for its skin graft across a further 16 states.
Red Rock Resources (LON:RRR) jumped 12% 0,067p to as it took an option over a private company with on shore oil assets in Benin.
Stamp and collectibles specialist Stanley Gibbons (LON:SGI) edged higher as underlying profits edged up in its latest year. Shares rose 3% to 256.5p.