LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks were slightly lower on Tuesday, as fragile negotiations between Greece and its creditors weighed on investors' risk appetites.
Sector-wise, industrial metals, oil and telecommunications stocks provided the biggest drag.

As of 14:30 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.16% lower at 6,779.

HSBC dipped as it announced 22,000 to 25,000 job cuts and branch closures with the aim of saving between $4.5bn to $5bn in annual costs by 2017. In a statement issued to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the lender said it would reduce its risk-weighted assets by about $290bn and would still strive for a return on equity of more than 10% within two years.

Miners Anglo American and Rio Tinto were trading in the red after Chinese data showed copper imports fell 16.3% in May, hitting a three-month low. Data also revealed that the country's exports of unwrought aluminium and products jumped 21% on an annualised basis to 410,000 tonnes.

Media group Reed Elsevier surged as Barclays said it offers excellent value for growth in a research note e-mailed to clients, given that shares have seen no re-rating since the start of 2012. The broker upgraded its recommendation on the stock to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and set a 1225p target price.

Diageo extended Monday's gains as analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded their rating on the stock from 'underperform' to 'neutral'. The upgrade follows speculation that the company is in the early stages of considering a bid from 3G.

International Consolidated Airlines also soared on positive broker sentiment, as analysts at HSBC lifted their stance from 'hold' to 'buy'.



Risers
Mondi (MNDI) 1,406.00p +2.78%
Royal Mail (RMG) 513.50p +2.70%
Intu Properties (INTU) 321.50p +2.03%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,080.00p +1.69%
Diageo (DGE) 1,907.00p +1.44%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,658.00p +1.44%
British Land Company (BLND) 829.00p +1.41%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,323.00p +1.15%
Hammerson (HMSO) 646.50p +1.09%
G4S (GFS) 291.40p +1.08%

Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 989.70p -1.57%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,435.00p -1.37%
CRH (CRH) 1,803.00p -1.04%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,288.00p -1.04%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,882.50p -1.03%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,170.00p -1.02%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 460.50p -0.95%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 241.75p -0.92%
Kingfisher (KGF) 376.40p -0.90%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 260.30p -0.88%

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE