Eurozone concern hits London shares
The London market has lost ground after investors eyed events in the eurozone at the start of another vital week in its battle for survival.The FTSE 100 Index had been near a four-month high but it slipped 28.1 points to 5824.4 amid disappointment that the European Central Bank has played down speculation over the shape of any future bond buying programme.
And heavily weighted miners suffered a poor session as investors feared that China will not be drawn into measures to stimulate its economy.
Much of the focus was on Greece though, with Antonis Samaras poised to visit Germany and France this week in a bid to gain an extension on Greece's deadline to meet fiscal targets as it carries out painful reforms.
Greek officials were also looking to finalise 11.5 billion euro (£9 billion) in spending cuts necessary for it to continue receiving the international funding that is protecting it from bankruptcy.
The nervousness ahead of the negotiations saw Germany's Dax and France's Cac-40 suffer small losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US was 0.2% lower as the London market closed.
The pound was slightly down against the euro at 1.27 as the single currency was boosted by a fall in Spain's bond yields despite the ECB scotching speculation about its imminent intervention in bond markets. But sterling was marginally up against the dollar at 1.57.
Back in London, miner Evraz was the biggest top flight faller, off 4% or 11.3p at 259.2p, while Xstrata declined 31.8p to 907.5p, on the eve of results from merger partner Glencore.
It has also been affected by the crisis at platinum miner Lonmin as Xstrata has a 25% stake in the FTSE 250 Index company.
Lonmin declined 5% - off 29.5p to 610p - as fears grew over the financial impact of strikes at its flagship operations in South Africa. It was reported over the weekend that Lonmin is considering a £640 million rights issue. However, there was some respite for the company after it was able to resume some production at the mine due to the return to work of nearly a third of staff.
The nervousness ahead of the negotiations saw Germany's Dax and France's Cac-40 suffer small losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US was 0.2% lower as the London market closed.
The pound was slightly down against the euro at 1.27 as the single currency was boosted by a fall in Spain's bond yields despite the ECB scotching speculation about its imminent intervention in bond markets. But sterling was marginally up against the dollar at 1.57.
Back in London, miner Evraz was the biggest top flight faller, off 4% or 11.3p at 259.2p, while Xstrata declined 31.8p to 907.5p, on the eve of results from merger partner Glencore.
It has also been affected by the crisis at platinum miner Lonmin as Xstrata has a 25% stake in the FTSE 250 Index company.
Lonmin declined 5% - off 29.5p to 610p - as fears grew over the financial impact of strikes at its flagship operations in South Africa. It was reported over the weekend that Lonmin is considering a £640 million rights issue. However, there was some respite for the company after it was able to resume some production at the mine due to the return to work of nearly a third of staff.
© 2013 Press Association