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FTSE 100 falls ahead of last-ditch Greek debt talks FTSE 100 lower ahead of last-ditch Greek debt talks
(about 4 hours later)
(Open): UK shares fell after Greece failed again to clinch a deal with its creditors on Thursday, with more talks due on Saturday. (Noon): Shares in the UK and across Europe have fallen as investors remain cautious with no sign of a solution to the Greek debt crisis.
The FTSE 100 dropped 51.28 points, or 0.75%, to 6,756.54, with other European markets seeing similar falls. Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failed to reach a deal with creditors on Thursday, then a meeting of European finance ministers broke up without progress.
Shares in Tesco bucked the downward trend, however, after the UK's largest supermarket said the decline in its sales had slowed in the first quarter. Finance ministers will now meet again on Saturday.
UK sales fell 1.3%, not as bad as forecast, and its shares rose 3.2%. The FTSE 100 index was down 57.49 points, or 0.8%, at 6,750.33.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's Dax index was 32.14 points lower at 11,440.99 while France's Cac 40 recovered most of its early losses to stand down just 3.31 points at 5,038.40. In Greece, the ASE index was 4.1 points lower at 777.58.
The Athens government faces default if it fails to make a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) IMF debt repayment by Tuesday.
If Greece does default, it could exit the eurozone, with possible repercussions for the rest of Europe and the world economy.
"The market is coming under pressure, but there is still a chance they will reach a last-minute agreement on Greece, as they have done in the past," Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments, told Reuters.
On the foreign exchange markets, the euro weakened slightly but was little changed against many currencies. It was flat against the dollar at $1.1206.
The pound dipped slightly against the dollar to $1.5740, and was flat against the euro at €1.4054.
Tesco progress
Among UK stocks, Tesco was hogging the headlines after its first quarter sales figures beat analysts' expectations.
UK sales fell 1.3%, an improvement on the previous quarter's 1.7% decline, and shares in Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, rose 3.4%.
"One swallow does not make a summer, but every little helps as Tesco seems to have stemmed some of its recent declines in this quarter," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers."One swallow does not make a summer, but every little helps as Tesco seems to have stemmed some of its recent declines in this quarter," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
"The like-for-like sales numbers generally still remain in negative territory, but there are nonetheless signs of progress, not least of which seems to be a softening of customer disapproval towards the company.""The like-for-like sales numbers generally still remain in negative territory, but there are nonetheless signs of progress, not least of which seems to be a softening of customer disapproval towards the company."
The news lifted shares in other supermarket chains, with Sainsbury's up 1.9% and Morrisons 1.3% higher. The news lifted shares in other supermarket chains, with Sainsbury's up 1.7% and Morrisons 1.3% higher.
On the currency markets, the pound was flat against the dollar at $1.5746, and also unchanged against the euro at €1.4056.