London’s blue-chip stocks opened lower despite US stocks gaining overnight as concerns eased over the Greece situation.
Attention switches to the German parliament today, but unlike the heated debate in Greece on Wednesday the bailout funding is expected to be passed with little fuss.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble may throw a spanner in the works however, after suggesting that Greece leaving the euro is still the best option.
Footsie was fifteen points lower at 6,781 with few stand-outs.
The pound rose on the back of the comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney that UK interest rates may start to rise around the start of next year and hit their historical average of 2% after over three years.
On a quiet day for company news, product tester Intertek (LON:ITRK) was the best of the FTSE 100 risers adding 2% to 2,456p.
Marks & Spencer’s (LON:MKS) was a weak spot as it announced the departure of John Dixon, the head of its clothing and homeware business.
Sales in the division disappointed in the last trading update and the performance of the division was described as not good enough by chief executive Marc Bolland.
Dixon, who had been in charge of general merchandise since 2013 will be replaced by current food division boss Steve Rowe. Shares eased 6p to 540p.
Digital gaming company Bwin.party (LON:BPTY) has chosen 888 Holdings (LON;888) as its preferred suitor in a cash-and-shares deal worth almost £900mln.
Rival gaming group GVC had made a £906.5mln offer but BWIN has now plumped for the 888 offer worth 104.09p per share. BWIN shares rose to 103p.
In the world of small caps, Tomco (LON:TOM) said it has now received all necessary permits to take the Holliday Block shale oil project in Utah into production and development.
The AIM firm was granted a ground water discharge permit and a construction permit today. Shares rocketed 23% to 0.16p.
Also higher was Rurelec (LON:RUR) after it completed the sale of its Canchayllo project in Peru for US$6.8mln.
Shares had been dropping this week when the Latin American power group revealed that a US$12mln bridging loan arranged in June had been suspended, but they recovered 10% to 2p today.
On the other side of the coin, troubled New World Oil & Gas (LON:NEW) resumed trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning.
Shares have been suspended since May and shareholders were quick to sell, with shares losing more than 70% to 0.07p.
Oilfield specialist Atlas Development & Support (LON:ADSS) lowered its sales expectations due to the weakness in crude prices. Shares dropped 57% to 0.85p.