London midday: FTSE fluctuates around 7,000 as Greek concerns weigh

LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks retreated slightly from a record high on Monday morning on the back of uncertainty in Greece, though decent gains from banking, oil and mining stocks were providing some support. The FTSE 100 was down 0.09% at 7,016 by midday, pulling back after setting a new all-time closing high of 7,022.51 on Friday.

Nevertheless, the index had bounced off its lows of the day (6,991.43) and was still outperforming the wider European market in morning trade, with indices in France and Germany posting big falls.

"The FTSE continued to dance around 7,000 this morning; the index showed no signs of posting significant growth, yet at the same time has held onto this level with remarkable vigour given the latest three-digit falls in the Eurozone," said analyst Connor Campbell from Spreadex. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has warned German chancellor Angela Merkel that Athens will not be able to service debt obligations unless the EU distributes short-term financial aid.

Merkel had agreed to meet with Tsipras during an EU summit on Thursday as well as for a one-to-one discussion late Monday in Berlin.

Analyst James Hughes from Etoro said traders across Europe are unsure of the next directional move on the markets, with both the Germany Dax and UK Footsie at all-time highs, and a correction (especially in Frankfurt) "could be just around the corner".

"If anything is likely to burst the European equity market bubble it would definitely be a negative outcome in Greece, as yet again the Greeks hold the power of financial market stability in their hands," he said.

Centamin (Toronto: CEE.TO - news) jumps despite profit plunge Profits at gold miner Centamin more than halved in 2014 as higher production was offset by increased output costs and lower commodity prices. However, the stock surged after the company's dividend equalled 30% of free cash flow, at the top end of guidance.

Other miners such as BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) , Antofagasta (Other OTC: ANFGF - news) , Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) and Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) were also making gains, along with oil heavyweights Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) and BG Group (LSE: BG.L - news) .

Standard Chartered (HKSE: 2888.HK - news) was leading banks higher after having its rating promoted from 'neutral' to 'overweight' at JPMorgan. The broker said: "We believe that last week's UK budget may lead the market to attach a higher probability of strategic actions to change domicile and unlock value." Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) and RBS (LSE: RBS.L - news) also rose.

In contrast, shares in Weir Group were being weighed down by a ratings cut at RBC Capital Markets, which said that the risk-reward for new investors is now balanced. The broker lowered its stance on the engineering outfit from 'top pick' to 'sector perform' and slashed its target price from 2,150p to 1,850p.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL - news) also had its rating lowered from 'buy' to 'hold' over at Deutsche Bank (LSE: 0H7D.L - news) , pushing the cruise operator lower.

Firstgroup (LSE: FGP.L - news) jumped after making a deal with the Department for Transport to operate the First Great Western rail franchise until 1 April, 2019.

Market Movers techMARK 3,244.77 -0.55% FTSE 100 7,016.00 -0.09% FTSE 250 17,528.25 -0.05% FTSE 100 - Risers Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,151.50p +7.47% 3i Group (III) 505.50p +1.77% Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) 'A' (RDSA) 2,099.50p +1.72% BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,565.00p +1.69% Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,207.00p +1.66% Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO.L - news) (ANTO) 723.50p +1.26% Schroders (SDR) 3,314.00p +0.88% Intu Properties (Other OTC: CCRGF - news) (INTU) 358.30p +0.87% Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,127.00p +0.71% Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 358.80p +0.70% FTSE 100 - Fallers Weir Group (WEIR) 1,787.00p -2.93% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK.L - news) (HIK) 2,125.00p -2.75% Carnival (CCL) 3,130.00p -2.22% Burberry Group (Other OTC: BBRYF - news) (BRBY) 1,837.00p -2.08% Shire Plc (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) (SHP) 5,570.00p -2.02% Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) (SL.) 477.80p -1.81% Whitbread (WTB) 5,335.00p -1.75% Meggitt (MGGT) 564.50p -1.74% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,653.00p -1.67% Mondi (MNDI) 1,330.00p -1.34% FTSE 250 - Risers Centamin (DI (KSE: 003160.KS - news) ) (CEY) 62.15p +15.63% Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 970.50p +3.69% Vedanta Resources (Other OTC: VDNRF - news) (VED) 543.50p +3.52% Soco International (LSE: SIA.L - news) (SIA (SES: E1:C6L.SI - news) ) 173.50p +3.46% Ophir Energy (Other OTC: OPGYF - news) (OPHR) 139.50p +3.41% FirstGroup (FGP (BSE: FGP.BO - news) ) 98.20p +3.31% Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE.L - news) (CNE) 162.90p +3.17% Hunting (HTG) 503.00p +3.16% Entertainment One Limited (Other OTC: ENTMF - news) (ETO) 312.80p +2.39% Premier Farnell (LSE: PFL.L - news) (PFL) 194.80p +2.26% FTSE 250 - Fallers Indivior (Berlin: 2IV.BE - news) (INDV) 194.30p -3.04% Balfour Beatty (Other OTC: BAFBF - news) (BBY) 228.00p -2.98% Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 142.50p -2.13% Pace (PIC) 350.80p -1.93% RPS Group (LSE: RPS.L - news) (RPS) 248.60p -1.93% Workspace Group (LSE: WKP.L - news) (WKP) 899.00p -1.86% Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 218.50p -1.80% Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 86.10p -1.71% Infinis Energy (LSE: INFI.L - news) (INFI) 190.80p -1.65% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (LSE: DPH.L - news) (DPH) 1,016.00p -1.65%