London’s blue chip stocks opened pretty flat this morning as the much-anticipated Greece referendum takes place this weekend.
With US markets shut today for Independence Day, Greece is still very much the focus following Tuesday's missed IMF payment.
The vote, which takes place on Sunday, will decide on whether to accept bailout terms and is too close to call according to reports.
Stan Shamu at IG said: “In a nutshell, both the yes and no vote seem to bear significant risks for global markets.
“A yes vote risks seeing Greece plunge into fresh political chaos. Even if we get a yes vote, this means the country must go back to the negotiation table and try to knock something together again.”
Meanwhile, Asian markets saw red overnight with the Shanghai Composite Index in China falling 127 points to 3,786 despite Government attempts to ease investor sentiment.
The fall means the Shanghai Composite is heading for its biggest three week drop since 1992 with about US$2.8trn wiped off the index over the period.
Meanwhile in the UK, the FTSE 100 was 8 points lower to 6,622 as investors continue to flee risk ahead of the Greece referendum.
Leading the way higher was BP (LON:BP.) as uncertainty was removed as it reached a £12bn settlement over the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The agreed sum, to be spread over 18 years, is with the US Department of Justice and is reportedly the largest amount paid by a single company in US history.
The oil giant’s shares were near the top of the index today, climbing 1.2% to 443p.
Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) was a big faller after reports surfaced that the bank is facing a US$13bn claim for its actions before the 2008 financial crisis. Shares dropped 1.4% to 361p.
Elsewhere, Optimal Payments (LON:OPAY) revealed trading to end June remained strong as it continues to head to London's main market and FTSE 250. Shares jumped 10% to 241p.
In small cap news, Provexis (LON:PXS) revealed it has raised £280,000 of new capital through crowdfunding.
The AIM quoted group sold 62.2mln new shares via PrimaryBid.com, priced at 0.45p each, a 22% discount to Thursday’s closing price. Shares eased 14.5% on the news to 0.5p.
Elsewhere, troubled software group Ubisense (LON:UBI) issued another profit warning after more contract delays in its solutions arm. Shares lost 13% to 96p.