LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630:Close Shares have closed lower, following last Friday´s sharp gains and on reports of difficult negotiations between Greece´s three main political parties and its public sector creditors (ECB, IMF (Berlin: MXG1.BE - news) and EU). Cairn rose after completing a share consolidation and after commencing trading without rights to a 160p per share cash distribution. Lloyds, another outperformer today, was joined by miner Randgold Resources (Xetra: A0B5ZS - news) (which announced its intention to double its dividend payments) and Vodafone (LSE: VOD.L - news) . Worth mention, some market commentary has attributed the rise in shares of Lloyds to news that UK house prices rose 0.6% on the month in January. Leading on the downside in the top share index was Glencore, on the back of multiple reports suggesting that Xstrata´s board will require the payment of a premium before giving its blessing to any merger. Admiral (LSE: ADM.L - news) and Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) seem to have succumbed to profit taking, with Vedanta and Antofagasta (Xetra: 867578 - news) tracking copper prices lower (although they too have had a fantastic run of late). Lastly, according to the Ernst&Young ITEM club total UK bank loans will shrink by 2.2% in 2012, after increasing by 4.3% in 2011. FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) down 9 to 5,892. 1605: Fallers among Footsie (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) constituents outnumber risers by three-to-one, with Glencore the biggest faller on rumours that its proposed merger with Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) might not play too well with the regulatory authorities. Investors seem to be showing patience after news that a meeting between Greece´s Prime Minister and the country´s main political parties has been postponed until tomorrow. Cairn continues to lead risers on the top share index following the completion of a reverse split as Marks&Spencer and Vodafone have moved into the fourth and fifth highest spots on the leader board, respectively. On the downside, Barclays is now amongst the largest fallers, following very sharp gains in its share price of late. FTSE 100 down 16 to 5,886. 1353: The composition of the leader board for the top share index is little changed an hour before the open on Wall Street, although the Footsie has managed to inch up to its best levels of the day. That following the sharp rise seen in stocks last Friday, following the release of the latest employment report Stateside, and, according to some observers, despite lingering fears regarding the sustainability of the recent rise in the S&P 500 (SNP: ^GSPC - news) . Be that as it may, the benchmark gauge for US shares, the S&P 500, has climbed 6.9% in 2012, the most since it rose 14% to begin 1987 (not the best of years), data compiled by Bloomberg show. Of possible interest as well, the FT highlights today how US banks are now again trading over their book value. Also worth mention, UBS (NYSEArca: DJCI - news) has raised its US first quarter GDP forecast to 2.3%, from 1.5% previously. FTSE 100 down 13 to 5,889. 1221: Equities are holding to an intra-day trading range in hopes of greater clarity on the situation in Greece. Declines in copper miner Vedanta are being attributed by some to the IMF report out this morning on China. Out in the wider market, on the FTSE 350, Supergroup (LSE: SGP.L - news) may be getting a lift from Oriel analysts´ decision to raise their recommendation on the group´s shares to buy from neutral. On the negative side of the ledger, Bumi is now the worst performing stock on the index, possibly due to negative coverage in today´s FT regarding possible changes in the company´s highest ranks. FTSE 100 down 19 to 5,883. 1053: Stocks have managed to move slightly off their worst levels of the day despite reports that no news on the negotiations between the main Greek political parties and the Eurozone ´troika´ may be forthcoming today. On the other hand, other newspaper reports hold that Greece will finally accept the economic reforms which its creditors are asking for. Of interest, as a backdrop, the IMF has today cut its GDP forecast for China in 2012. Also worth noting, the increased net long positions of US money managers in gold and silver futures, according to CFTC (Taiwan OTC: 1586.TWO - news) data cited by Bloomberg. FTSE 100 down 22 to 5,879.
0924: London's blue chip index fell into the red in early trading on Monday, as Greek talks weighed on sentiment. After a meeting last night between the three parties of Greece's coalition government, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos announced that they had agreed on "basic issues". However, debates are still on-going and focusing on additional austerity measures. Randgold was a high riser after fourth quarter sales rose 1.3%, while Admiral fell, pulling back after Friday's strong rise. FTSE 100 down 35 at 5,866.
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